


Danganronpa 52: Despair From the Heart

by AmazingMewtwo_Writes



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: 52nd killing game, Angst, Fan Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Depression, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, danganronpa 52, danganronpa oc - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2020-10-26 09:41:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 133,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20740148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmazingMewtwo_Writes/pseuds/AmazingMewtwo_Writes
Summary: Every end has a beginning.This is my headcanon for what happened in the 52nd killing game! (because Rantaro is my fave and I had to okay)This DOES include a lot of V3 spoilers, some OC x canon and, since this is Danganronpa, of course a lot of blood, violence, and despair.I hope you guys enjoy!CURRENTLY ON - Chapter 3: Shot At Dawn (Daily Life)





	1. Nostalgia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do you ever get that feeling that you've seen someone before?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah, DanganRWBY wasn't the only fic I had back on Tumblr.  
Thankfully I only put the first chapter up before I decided to move my fics to AO3, so yeah.

“_O-oh, is it on already?”_

“_Yes. Please state your number and name.”_

“_...Number 45. My name is [REDACTED].”_

“_What is your reason for applying?”_

“_Well...This sounds dumb, but... I-”_

_[REDACTED]_

“_Ah, so that's your reason?”_

“_I guess...It's pretty stupid, I know...”_

“_It isn't. And...I think that's all we needed to hear.”_

“_Really?”_

“_Yes. you will get a letter within the next week regarding your result.”_

“_Oh...Thank you.”_

“_No problem. And good luck.”_

_The girl clicked the remote, and the screen turned into a flurry of static._

“_Really?” She said, turning around to face the only other person in the room with her. “THAT’S the one you want? REALLY!?”_

_The man nodded. “Of course. Do you have a problem with that?”_

_The girl pouted annoyedly and tapped her foot on the ground. “Multiple.”_

“_Well tough. We’ve made the choice.” He folded his arms. “The character designers already have an idea of what to do; costume and makeup department are already making sketches, writers already have backstory drafts up; you got a problem? Too bad.”_

“_Why didn’t **I** get to choose who it was!?”_

“_You already had a say in who got the callbacks.”_

“_Yeah, but that’s different!”_

_The man’s eyes narrowed, as if the teenage girl was a toddler throwing a tantrum. “Of course it is. You’re just lucky we haven’t fired you.”_

“_Fired me? HAH!” The girl laughed. “You can’t fire me!”_

“_Either way,” He continued, turning to leave the room. “That’s the choice we’ve made. Stick with it or leave.”_

_The girl rolled her eyes just as the man closed the door behind him._

“_Want me to work with this?” She said, clicking the remote a few more times to reverse the footage on the screen, before pausing on a single frame._

“_I’ll work with this.”_

“Hello? Can you hear me?”

A voice suddenly cut through the dark silence.

_What…? Ugh, my head hurts...What’s going on?_

“Heeeeey, are you awake?”

_Huh? Who’s…Who IS that? What-_

“Hey, I’m talking to you, guy with green hair! Rise and shine, buddy!”

_...I guess I should try to…_

He reluctantly forced his eyes open. His vision was a little blurry, but from what he could see, a girl was standing over him.

“Ngh...” He put his hand to his head and slowly sat up.

The girl’s eyes widened as she shot backwards. “Whoa, okay!”

He blinked a few times to get his vision clear.

This definitely wasn’t his bedroom.

From what he could tell, it looked like he was on one of the beds of a school’s nurse’s office.

“Huh?” He rubbed his head in an attempt to get rid of his throbbing headache. “Where-”

“Honestly, I don’t know either.”

He stopped at the girl’s voice and turned to face her.

The girl had long blue hair – which faded into a lighter colour – which was secured with a star-shaped hairclip. Some of it draped over her right shoulder and a rounded spike had been styled at the top. She was wearing a sailor-style uniform with a blue collar and a dark navy bow underneath a light blue hoodie, as well as a blue skater skirt with a white stripe, white stockings and dark shoes.

She was looking directly at him with bright blue eyes.

“I woke up here as well,” She continued, gesturing towards another bed on the opposite side of the room to him. “I didn’t really know what was going on, and you were knocked out too, so...” She shrugged. “Yeah.”

He focused his gaze on her.

Something about this girl made him feel...Nostalgic.

He shook those thoughts out of his head. “Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

The girl raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you hear the part when I said I woke up here too?”

“...Good point.” He slowly eased himself off the bed.

The girl looked at him, a little concerned. “...Are you...Okay?”

“Well my head still hurts...” He replied. “I still have no idea what was going on, everything was black for a long time and-” He gestured towards the general area around him.

“Ah. Good to know we’re in the same boat.” She fiddled with her hair a little.

It took a few moments before some of his memory came back.

“Wait a second.”

The girl stopped and looked back over to him.

He continued. “Did…” He pointed in her direction. “Did you get scouted by Starlight Academy?”

“Uh...” The girl nodded. “Yeah.”

“That means...You’re an Ultimate student, right?”

“Oh! Yeah!” The girl smiled a little. “Somehow...Ehe...Wait, are you one too?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I got a letter from Starlight Academy a while back saying that I’d be doing my next few semesters here.”  
“Ooh! Me too!” She replied cheerily. “Maybe that’s where we are!”

“What, the academy?”

“Yeah!” The girl gestured to their surroundings. “I mean, this does look like the kinda nurse’s office you’d find in a school.”

“Well yeah, but...Why?”

“Hm?” She spun back around.

“Why would they do it like this instead of, y’know...A proper induction?”

The girl shrugged. “I dunno, maybe they just have a really weird perception of trust building exercises.”

“Yeah, evidently.”

Neither of them said anything for a few seconds.

The girl cleared her throat a little. “I think it’s about time we introduced ourselves.”

“Oh. Right.” The boy nodded. “Well...My name is Rantaro Amami. And I’m the Ultimate Adventurer.”

The girl’s eyes lit up. “You’re an ADVENTURER!? THAT’S SO COOL!”

Rantaro laughed it off. “Hehe, not really...”

“Well it is compared to mine...”

“Speaking of. It’s your turn.”

“Oh yeah! Well, uh...” She paused for a few seconds. “I’m Kokoro Hikari, and I’m the Ultimate Lucky Student. Nice to meet you!” She offered a hand to him.

He shook her hand. “Likewise. So, uh...” He started to ask. “Ultimate Lucky Student? What does that mean, exactly?”

“Well, it’s kinda dumb...” Kokoro replied with a shrug. “The academy does a country-wide lottery or draw thing and picks a random high school student to attend. And...” She gestured to herself.

“You won that draw?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “It’s not really an Ultimate talent, though. They probably just hand out the title out of pity...”

“What makes you think that?”

“Well, I didn’t exactly do anything to earn my title. A lot of the students here get their titles by excelling in their craft, right? I mean, look at you!” She gestured towards him. “You’re an adventurer, for crying out loud!”

Rantaro shrugged. “I guess.”

“Point is, you actually did something to get your title. You earned it.” Kokoro sighed. “All I did was win a draw.”

There was a bit of an awkward silence.

“Actually,” Rantaro said. “I...Think I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

Kokoro stopped. “Really?”

“Yeah, it’s just...Your name, your face, your voice, I just...” He turned around to think. “I just remember it from somewhere, but I can’t quite put my finger on it...”

“Hm...” Kokoro said. “I do idol work I guess.”

Rantaro turned back to face her. “Idol work?”

“Yeah!” She nodded. “Y’know, stage idols and stuff? I initially picked it up as a summer job, but it’s kinda a part of my life now.” She laughed a little. “I mean, I’m not as popular as a lot of the idols you see, but I would rather have gotten into here for that than just a lucky draw...”

Rantaro slowly nodded. “...Yeah, that’s probably where I know you from.”

But part of him was still skeptical of that really being the case.

Kokoro shrugged. “Maybe.” She stopped. “Hold up.”

“Hm?”

“Well, you’re an Ultimate student and I’m an Ultimate student, right?”

“...Yeah…?”

“Well, there might be more Ultimate students here!”

“Really?”

“Going by the fact that both of us were scouted for this year, I think the rest of the class might be somewhere around.”

Rantaro put his hand to his chin. “If that’s the case...We should try to find them.”

Kokoro nodded. “Yeah, good call.”

Rantaro headed over to the door and walked out, with Kokoro following behind him. This lead them to a hallway with some other doors apparently to different classrooms appearing at random on either side.

“So, where should we start-?” Kokoro started to ask, but was cut off by a voice from behind them.

“Why not start here?”

The two of them spun around to face the source of the voice.

The boy behind them was about Rantaro’s height. He wore a pair of glasses over his violet eyes and had long purple hair that was tied into a ponytail. He wore a light royal purple shirt – partially tucked into his grey shorts – under a dark purple short sleeved thin jacket with two breast pockets on either side, and wore grey fingerless gloves on both hands. He had semi-transparent purple tights and grey boots, and it even looked like his skin had a slight lilac hue.

He smiled a little. “You wake up here too?”

“That was quick...” Rantaro said to himself, before turning to the stranger. “Yeah, we woke up in that nurses office a few rooms down.”

“Huh.” He replied. “Looks like everyone here’s the same, then...”

Kokoro’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wait, everyone?”

“Yeah, I asked everyone. They all woke up somewhere here with no memory of how they got there.” He shrugged. “Pretty weird, huh?”

“Understatement of the century...” Kokoro shook her head and put her hand on her hip.

Rantaro shrugged. “At least we know now there’s more people here.” He looked over to the boy. “How many were there?”

“Well...” He tilted his head a bit as he thought to himself. “Counting myself and you two...Fourteen.”

“Fourteen people?” Kokoro asked.

“Don’t look at me, the school board were the ones who decided on the class’ numbers.”

“Hm. So, uh...” Kokoro continued. “Why don’t we get introductions outta the way? I’ll go first. I’m Kokoro Hikari, and I’m this year’s Ultimate Lucky Student.”

“And I’m Rantaro Amami.” Rantaro followed. “Ultimate Adventurer. And you are…?”

“Jasper Shion.” The boy extended a hand to him. “It’s a pleasure.”

There was still some air of mystery about him, so Rantaro was a little cautious when he shook his hand.

“Uh...Yeah.”

“Wait,” Kokoro said questioningly. “What about your talent?”

Jasper looked over to her. “What _about_ my talent?”

“You, uh...Never said what it was.”

Jasper nodded. “Yeah.”

“Well, Rantaro and I both said ours.”

“Mm-hm. And your point is…?”

“I think what she’s trying to say is,” Rantaro decided to ask himself. “Aren’t you going to say what your talent is?”

Jasper paused for a few seconds, staring at Rantaro questioningly. “...Why should I?”

Rantaro and Kokoro looked at each other for a few seconds.

“Uh,” Kokoro asked. “Do you...HAVE an Ultimate Talent?”

“Of course I do.” Jasper answered. “I mean, why would I be here if I didn’t?”

“Good point...”

“I do have a talent.” He continued. “I just don’t want to say what it is.”

“Why not?” Rantaro asked.

“I have my own reasons.” Jasper replied cryptically. “But I don’t have to say it if I don’t want to.”

Rantaro flinched back a little. Jasper’s seemingly mysterious aura had almost forced him to instinctively step back.

After that the boy in question immediately snapped back to normal.

“Anyway,” He said. “Why don’t you continue searching?”

“Huh?”

“For the rest of the class. I’ve already met them, but you two evidently haven’t.” Jasper pointed towards Rantaro and Kokoro.

Kokoro looked up to him. “…The man’s got a point.”

“Right...” Rantaro nodded, before turning back over to Jasper. “It was nice meeting you.”

He smiled. “Likewise.”

Rantaro quickly turned back around on him and Kokoro’s initial course and continued walking.

“Any idea where anyone else could be?” She asked.“I mean, it’s not like they’ll all be gathered in one place or something, huh?”

“No clue...” Rantaro shook his head.

“I could help you if you want.”

Rantaro stopped and turned around to see that Jasper was trailing after them.

“...Are you following us?”

Jasper shrugged with a deadpan stare. “I have literally nothing better to do.”

“Good point-”

“Hey,” Kokoro said from up ahead. “What’s this over here?”

Rantaro immediately headed over to the source of her voice, with Jasper following behind. Kokoro was standing in front of a red door.

“To answer your question,” Jasper said, very matter-of-factly. “...It’s a door. It’s also red.”

“Yeah! I figured!” She said. “But it has no doorknob!”

“Yeah of course it- wait it has no what.”

“Look!”

Rantaro and Jasper took a closer look at the door.

There was a large grey circle with the shape of what looked like a large chess pawn carved into the middle. And other than a decal of another chess piece – a king – Kokoro was right.

Rantaro looked over to her. “...Are you SURE that’s a door?”

“Of course that’s a door, dumbass.” A voice said from behind the three of them.

A girl was standing behind them, with blue hair tied in a ponytail and secured with a hairclip shaped like a pink wrapped candy, and fake-looking golden baby-doll eyes. She was wearing a white sailor shirt with a baby blue collar and a pink bow, a white and blue pleated miniskirt and blue boots with stockings with pink candy stripes.

She was glaring right at Rantaro.

Jasper rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath. “Oh, god...”

“Huh. Polite introduction.” Kokoro said sarcastically.

“I don’t care.” The girl replied.

Rantaro sighed.

_This will evidently be a fun one…_

He decided not to rise up to the girl’s rude remarks. “Are you an Ultimate student too?”

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be standing here, would I? Don’t ask stupid questions.”

He was finding it very hard not to rise up to the girl’s rude remarks.

“Well then...I’m Rantaro. Ultimate Adventurer. This is Kokoro, Ultimate Lucky Student, and this is Jasper, Ultimate…...Uuuhh...”

“Don’t bother.” Jasper quipped.

“Could’ve said that earlier. Anyway,” He turned back to the girl. “And you are…?”

“Tsumugi Shirogane.” The girl introduced. “Ultimate Confectioner.”

“Ultimate Confectioner?” Kokoro asked.

“What, do you need your ears cleaned out or something?”

_Well, _Rantaro thought. _Makes sense given her aesthetic. But you’d think someone who makes candy would at least try to be sweet or something, right? But with her…_

He looked over to Tsumugi, who just scowled.

_...She’s more sour._

“Anyway as I was saying,” Tsumugi continued. “Of course that’s a door.”

“There’s no doorknob.” Jasper replied, pointing at the door.

“Just because it doesn’t have a doorknob doesn’t mean it’s not a door.”

“There isn’t a keyhole either.”

“There is.” She replied smugly. “You three are just too dumb to see it.”

Jasper groaned. Rantaro decided to take the helm again.

“Well then, where is this keyhole?”

Tsumugi scoffed. “Why should I tell you? I mean, you’re not the kind of person I’d associate with.” She pointed at him mockingly. “With your tacky jewellery and your fake green hair.”

He growled a little. “_It’s not fake you **bi**-_”

“O-KAY!” Kokoro said loudly, detecting the rising intensity of the situation. “We will look at this door...Later!” She suddenly grabbed Rantaro by the arm and started dragging him off.

“Wh- hey! What’re you-”

She continued dragging him away as Jasper had started to also make his leave.

“It was nice to meet you! BYE!”

Kokoro stopped and released him after rounding a corner.

“Okay,” She said, just as Jasper casually arrived after them. “Looks like we’re out of earshot.”

“Um.” Rantaro turned over to her. “Why did you do that.”

“The situation was escalating and I panicked!”

“All she did was insult his hair.” Jasper replied. “And his jewellery. And practically all three of u- oh I see what you mean now.”

“Exactly! I didn’t want it to turn into a full blown screaming match!” Kokoro turned around and started to look down the hallway in front of them.

Jasper turned to Rantaro. “You didn’t need to introduce me to her, by the way. I’ve already talked to everyone.”

“I was just trying to be polite.” He replied. “Doesn’t seem to register with her, though...Was she the same way when you talked to her?”

“_Tried_ to talk to her.” He corrected. “She kept saying something about me looking like the ‘edgy one’ from a knockoff anime.”

“Damn.” Rantaro said, sighing. “I don’t really watch anime. Some of my sisters do, but-”

“Sisters?” Kokoro perked up, turning back around. “As in...Plural?”

_Shit. That slipped out without thinking._

“...Uh......Yeah.” He confirmed.

“How many?” She asked.

_Oh god, here we go..._

“………...Twelve.”

Rantaro could practically hear Kokoro’s eyes widening.

“TWELVE!?” She exclaimed.

“Yeah, twelve?” Jasper added.

“Yeah, yeah, I get that a lot...” He sighed. “My dad remarried a lot after I was born, and two of them were adopted, so...”

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “...Huh. Sibling rivalry must be hell.”

Rantaro shrugged.

“Twelve younger sisters!? That’s awesome!” Kokoro squealed, jumping up and down a little. “Tell me about them! Tell me about them! Tell me about them!”

“Ahahah...” Rantaro laughed it off nervously, already guessing her and Jasper’s reactions if he did. “...I’d...Rather not...”

“Aaawww, pleeeeaaaase?”

“No.” He affirmed bluntly, before brushing off his tone with a slightly forced smile. “I’ll...Uh...Tell you about them at some...Point...Later.”

“Pleeeaaaa-”

“Kokoro.” Jasper said firmly. “He said no.”

Kokoro pouted.

Rantaro was just about to say again that he was going to tell her at some point (which he wasn’t actually planning to), when the three of them heard something from a nearby room.

The door was marked “stage room” with a sign. The three of them headed inside to investigate.

The room inside was like a typical stage room you’d find in a school – only without sets of chairs on the floor in front of the stage. Said stage had two sets of red curtains; one opened set at the front, and a closed set at the back, as well as a door nearby the stage to get to the backstage area.

There were also two people inside.

One was a girl, with silver hair tied into a messy ponytail. She wore a light lavender-pink jacket with a collar and the sleeves rolled up, with darker trousers and light grey shoes. Her easily most notable features were a medical eyepatch over her left eye, and a bag – holding a bow and some arrows – over her shoulder.

The other was a boy. He was very short, so he almost looked like a middle schooler. He had bobbed pink hair with a fringe styled with a diamond-shaped emerald hairclip. He had a short trench coat and two chunky bangles to match the colour of his hairclip, salmon-coloured trousers and light pink shoes, and an almost coral-coloured bead necklace. He had emerald green eyes and a 4-pointed star-shaped symbol under his left eye.

The boy cheerily smiled at them, while the girl closed her eyes – well, eye – and looked away.

“Okay,” Rantaro asked. “Let’s be real here. What on earth would we need a stage room for?”

Kokoro shrugged. “If one of us was the Ultimate Actor or something. Or Ultimate SFX Artist. Or Ultimate Anything to do With Theatre.”

“Well, there’s something close-” Jasper started, but was cut off by the other boy walking over to them with his shoes clicking on the ground, almost like they could be mistaken for tap shoes.

“Hey there!” He said with a smile. “It’s good to see some other people.”

Kokoro discreetly leaned over to Rantaro. “Hey Rantaro, who let a third-grader in here-?”

“I’M NOT A THIRD GRADER!” The boy snapped, causing Kokoro to jump back in surprise.

“Aah sorry!”

He sighed, pouting a little. “It just REALLY gets on my nerves when people do that.”

_Well, he IS really short._

“Anyway,” Rantaro said. “Let’s just do introductions. I’m Rantaro Amami, the Ultimate Adventurer, and this is Kokoro Hikari, the Ultimate Lucky Student.”

“I’m Yuuma Todoroki.” The boy introduced. “The Ultimate Jeweller.”

_A jeweller, huh?_ Rantaro thought. _He is wearing quite a few accessories, so it makes sense._

“So does that mean you, like,” Kokoro asked. “Make jewellery and stuff?”

Yuuma nodded. “Yup.”

“Actually,” Jasper asked, looking to Rantaro and Kokoro. “Ever heard of the company The Velvet Box?”

“I guess.” Rantaro replied. He had heard of the company from TV adverts and such.

“Yeah,” Kokoro said. “Some of my friends at school wear their stuff. Why?”

Jasper nodded towards Yuuma.

It took a few seconds for the two of them to realise what he was getting at.

“Wait, that’s YOUR company!?”

Yuuma shrugged. “Kinda. I mean, it’s my dad’s, but he got sick so I had to take over.”

“A lot of the jewellery The Velvet Box sells is his designs.” Jasper added.

Rantaro was impressed. “Nice.”

“Oh, it’s nothing!” Yuuma replied casually. “I’m honestly just glad to see other people here.”

“What about that girl there?” Kokoro asked, briefly signalling towards the only other person in the room.

“I tried.”

“...You...Tried?”

“Yeah, not much of a socialite I don’t think.”

“Hm...” Rantaro said thoughtfully. “Well, it was good to meet you.”

“Same here!”

Rantaro turned around and started to walk over to the other girl, with Kokoro and Jasper following not too far behind.

She barely reacted when Rantaro walked over.

“Uh...Hey.” He said.

The girl didn’t say anything.

“...Hello?”

The girl didn’t say anything at first, but then sighed before finally responding.

“…...Hey.” She turned to look at the three coldly. “What do you want?”

_I think I can see what Yuuma meant now._

“We’re just introducing ourselves.” Rantaro answered. “We haven’t met you-”

“I have.” Jasper corrected.

“Well, Kokoro and I haven’t.” Rantaro refuted, before turning back over to the girl. “Anyway, I’m Rantaro Amami, and I’m the Ultimate Adventurer.”

“And I’m Kokoro Hikari.” Kokoro introduced. “The Ultimate Lucky Student.”

The girl looked at the three of them for a few seconds before saying “...Can’t we just skip this?”

“What? No!” Kokoro argued. “We’ve literally just met you-”

“Already met her.” Jasper corrected again.

“Zip it, you’re not helping!”

“Ugh, fine...” The girl said with a groan. “Ahmya Aika. Ultimate Archer.”

Rantaro wasn’t surprised, given the fact that she carried a bow and arrows on her back, but then realised something.

“Wait.” He said. “Do I...Know you from something?”

Ahmya blinked. “...What?”

“Wait a second!” He realised. “You were on the news a while ago!”

“She was?” Kokoro asked.

“Yeah,” Rantaro continued. “She’s a respected archer despite her young age, but someone shot her eye out during a competition.”

Kokoro took a step back in shock. “What!?”

Ahmya didn’t respond for a few more seconds.

“...Oh yeah.” She replied. “One of the competitors really didn’t want me to win, so they hired someone to shoot me in the eye.” She shrugged. “I still managed to win, though. It’s how I got my title apparently.”

_That explains the eyepatch._ Rantaro thought. _And her aloof nature I guess...I mean, she lost her eye. If someone lost a part of themselves, it would make sense for them to turn cold._

“H-how can you say that so casually!?” Kokoro exclaimed.

Ahmya just tutted.

“Did you do any other competitions afterwards?” Jasper asked, slightly shifting the subject away from her injury.

“Some.” She replied. “But not the large-scale ones I used to do. I didn’t want the news coverage all up in my face.”

Jasper shrugged. “Makes sense.

“Well, um,” Rantaro said, sensing that Ahmya didn’t want to talk for much longer. “It was...Nice meeting you.”

Ahmya nodded every so slightly. “Hm.” She turned away from them to stare vacantly at the wall, twirling a lock from her messy ponytail with her finger.

_I think she’s more comfortable in her own company._ Rantaro thought. _We should leave her be for a few minutes._

“Well I dunno about you,” Yuuma said from behind them, catching their attention; well, aside from Ahmya, as she wasn’t paying attention to them. “But I’m getting kinda bored of this place.”

Kokoro briefly looked over to the door to behind the stage. “We haven’t checked backstage yet.”

“Don’t you think I would’ve done that already?” Yuuma smirked. “There’s nothing really there, aside from some sandbags, crash mats, some kinda area where people would get changed for a show I think, I don’t really watch theatre so I don’t know.” He turned and headed towards the door. “I’m gonna explore to see if there’s anywhere that’s interesting.”

He left the room, the clicks from his shoes getting quieter as he got further and further away.

The room was silent for a few moments, when surprisingly Ahmya broke the silence.

“Some kid.”

“Oh, uh, indeed.” Rantaro was a little surprised by the fact she said anything at all. “I guess we’d better make a move too...Do you want to come with us?”

Ahmya said nothing, but eventually shook her head.

_That’s a no…_

“Let’s just head.” Kokoro said, pointing towards the door. “We’ve still got places in the academy to check out.”

“Okay.” Rantaro said, briefly nodding towards Ahmya as if to signal a farewell.

Ahmya nodded back, before turning back to the wall, prompting Rantaro, Kokoro and Jasper to leave.

“I’m still not getting the point of having a stage room,” Kokoro said as the three of them walked through the hallway.

Rantaro shrugged. “Every school has one, I’m pretty sure.”

Jasper nodded. “Yeah, the high school I used to go to had one.”

“Yeah, it’s a mandatory thing I guess.”

“Looks like it-”

They were stopped by what sounded like a bang from somewhere they just walked past.

Kokoro froze. “What the hell was that!?”

“I’m no expert,” Jasper replied. “But I think that sounded like someone punching something.”

“We should head in.” Rantaro said, Kokoro nodding in response.

The three of them headed into a room, which appeared to be some kind of open-plan dining hall, with a few tables and chairs and an empty doorway to a kitchen. There were two vending machines – one dispensing snacks and the other dispensing drinks – against a wall, and a girl was angrily pounding her fist against the drink dispenser.

They couldn’t see her face, but the girl was short and had long dark hair tied into a braid with a golden tie. She was wearing a dark jacket and a white skirt with white semi-transparent stockings and black heeled boots. She was carrying what appeared to be some kind of katana in a bag over her right shoulder, with a golden dragon design on the back.

“Dammit…!” She hissed, punching the machine again. “Why won’t this damn thing work!?”

“Um, hello?” Rantaro said, trying to get the girl’s attention.

“Okay,” The girl completely ignored them and prepared to kick the machine’s glass in. “Fuck it.”

“WHOA, WHOA!” Kokoro ran over in a panic to stop her. “CALM DOWN, PLEASE!”

“Huh?” The girl stopped and turned around as the three of them approached.

She had dark skin and golden eyes with some dark eyeshadow, and a small scar below her left eye. Her hair was styled in a messy fringe over her right eye, and some areas had been dip-dyed gold. She had a white shirt under her jacket with a faded blue ribbon tied in a droopy bow underneath the collar.

She sighed and put her hand on her hip annoyedly. “What the hell do you want?” She then took notice of Jasper alongside the two. “...Oh. It’s you again.”

Jasper shrugged. “I have literally nothing better to do.” He pointed at the machine. “You DID try putting money in that thing, right?”

“Tch. Would if I had any. The bastard who kidnapped me stole my cash and my phone.” She folded her arms. “Which is a real pain in the ass right now...”

“Wait, what?” Rantaro asked. “You don’t have any money on you? Or your phone?”

“Didn't you hear a word I said?” The girl replied bitterly.

Rantaro stopped to think for a few seconds, before holding his finger up to signal the group to wait.

“Hold on.”

He quickly searched both of his pockets.

Both of them were empty.

“Wait, what the hell!?”

He suddenly turned over to Kokoro, who was looking at him in bewilderment.

He gave her a determined look. “...Check your pockets.”

“Huh?” She asked. “Why?”

“Just do it.”

“Okay, fine.” She put her hand in the left pocket of her hoodie. “But I don’t see why you-”

Her expression suddenly shifted to confusion. She stopped and checked the other pocket, also coming up empty.

She started to panic. “Wait, where the hell is my phone!?”

Rantaro put his hand to his chin. “Just as I thought...”

Jasper narrowed his eyes, bemused. “...Shouldn’t that have been the **first** thing you checked when you woke up?”

“Zip it punk, you’re not helping.” The girl snapped.

“Wait,” Kokoro asked, pointing at the vending machine. “What would be the point of having vending machines if we weren’t gonna have any money?”

“Maybe it’s a card-op thing.” Jasper suggested. “Some schools have cards you can swipe for this kind of thing.” He mimicked swiping a card against a scanner. “They might give it to us at some point later or something.”

“I checked.” The girl replied. “It’s coin-op. Not only that,” She pointed at a small sign next to where you would put your coins. The sign had a picture of a coin, but with the shape of a bear’s head that appeared to be split into two halves.

“It says it only takes...Whatever this means.”

Jasper shrugged. “Then I’ve got no clue.”

“I think the real question is why the academy would take it in the first place.” Rantaro said. “I mean, they don’t have a real reason to take our phones and money off of us.”

“Because they're authoritarian fuckheads, that's why.” The girl replied.

“I’m...” Kokoro started. “Not sure that has anything to do with it.”

“Whatever. Whoever the fuck is running this place, I already hate them.”

“Okay...” Rantaro couldn’t shake the unease this new revelation had given him, but decided not to focus on that for now.

“That aside, we should get introductions out of the way.”

“Why? I already know him.” She pointed over at Jasper. “And I don’t know if I can trust either of you.”

“Well, we haven’t tried anything yet, have we?” Kokoro asked.

The girl tutted. “That doesn't prove anything to me.”

“Whatever...” Rantaro said. “Anyway, I'm Rantaro Amami. I'm the Ultimate Adventurer.”

“And I’m Kokoro Hikari, the Ultimate Lucky Student.” Kokoro added.

“Tch...” The girl folded her arms and sighed. “Fine...Sachiko Akahana. Ultimate Delinquent. There, you happy now?”

Kokoro froze, suddenly taking a slight step back.

Rantaro couldn’t help but be a little shocked either.

_...Did...Did I just hear that right?_

“What the fuck are you two staring at me like that for?”

“Sorry, I just, ah...” Kokoro stammered. “Don't think I heard that last part right.”

“You did.” Jasper answered.

Kokoro’s eyes widened in shock. “E-eh!?”

_Ultimate Delinquent?_ Rantaro thought. _I guess that explains the sword and her confrontational attitude…_

“If you don’t mind me asking,” He started to ask. “How did you get your-”

“Don’t even think about it.” Sachiko snapped.

“Huh?”

“I'm not gonna tell you how I got my talent unless I know I can trust you.”

Rantaro sighed in resignation. “Okay then...”

“Hey, it isn't nice to be so distrusting!” Kokoro objected.

Sachiko’s glare narrowed on her. “...What was that?”

“Bad idea.” Jasper said from the side.

Kokoro ignored him. “Well, I think you're being really rude!”

“I don't give a damn what you think about me. Now fuck off before I have to hurt you.”

“Please don’t antagonise her-” Rantaro started, only to also be ignored.

“I know you're not exactly the model student type,” Kokoro argued. “but you could stand to be a little nicer to people!”

“Who the FUCK do you think you are!?” Sachiko snapped angrily, grabbing the handle of her katana. “Get out of my way before I break you!”

Kokoro froze and took a step back.

“Okay.” Rantaro said, swiftly grabbing onto Kokoro’s arm. “We’re leaving now.”

“Wait what-” Kokoro started, before Rantaro sprinted off with her in tow.

“SORRYWEGOTOFFONTHEWRONGFOOTTHEREHOPEFULLYWE’LLBEABLETOTALKAGAINATSOMEPOINT_**BYE**_.”

The door slammed shut, leaving Jasper and Sachiko in the room together.

Jasper clicked his tongue. “Well. That was a thing.”

“Was that REALLY necessary!?”

“Hey, you did it to me earlier. And you were pissing her off. It was pretty necessary.”

Rantaro had dropped Kokoro off in what he assumed to be a safe distance away from the dining hall.

“Well she WAS being rude!”

“She’s literally called the Ultimate Delinquent. I don’t think making her angry is a good idea.”

“Hey!” They heard someone say. Both of them looked up to see Jasper walking over to them.

He shot an annoyed look at Rantaro. “Thanks for leaving me in there.”

“I’m sorry, I panicked. How is she?”

“Well she hasn’t broken the glass on that machine yet, so that’s a good sign.”

“I guess...”

“Hey, guys!” Kokoro suddenly said, running over to a nearby door. “I found another weird door!”

Rantaro and Jasper immediately followed over to see what she was talking about.

The door in question was painted a dark lilac colour, with a white decal resembling two band-aids crossing over each other.

“Another one?” Rantaro asked. “It’s like that one we found earlier.”

“At least it actually has a doorknob this time.” Jasper pointed out the door’s silver knob, with a similarly coloured keyhole underneath it.

Rantaro tried the door.

“Damn. It’s locked.”

“What do you reckon is in there?” Kokoro asked.

Jasper shrugged. “The symbol is of two crossed band-aids, so I reckon it’s probably some kind of nurse’s office.”

Kokoro shook her head. “No, Rantaro and I woke up in a nurse’s office when we arrived here. And that was all the way down the hall.”

“Then I have no clue.”

“Well, we can’t get inside...” Rantaro sighed and stepped back from the door. “So there’s no way of knowing right now.”

“That’s a pain...” Kokoro agreed, before something else caught her eye. “Hey, what do you think is up there?”

“Huh?” Rantaro turned to look at what she was looking at.

Not too far away from the door was a staircase leading upwards.

“Oh yeah.” Jasper recalled. “There’s another floor to this building.”

“Why didn’t you say so?” Rantaro asked, irritated.

He shrugged. “Neither of you asked.”

“Would’ve been pretty good to know!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kokoro brushed both of them off, already walking towards the staircase. “Looks like the next step is this way.” She stopped once she got onto the first step and laughed to herself a little. “...Pun not intended.”

Rantaro smirked a little, starting to follow her. “It totally was.”

“It wasn’t!” She argued playfully. “Let’s just go.”

Rantaro nodded as him and Jasper followed after her to the next floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for actually making it this far!  
I really hope you liked it!  
Please give comments and kudos! <3


	2. Ultimate Students

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rantaro, Kokoro and Jasper continue through the academy, meeting some new faces along the way.  
However, it soon becomes clear that something big is going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry if this took too long! But I hope you all enjoy it!

“Are there any _other_ floors to this place you haven’t told us about?” Rantaro asked, as the three of them walked up the stairs.

“They are,” Jasper replied. “But I couldn’t get up there.”

Kokoro, who was in front of both of them, briefly turned around and raised a cynical eyebrow. “‘Couldn’t’ or ‘didn’t want to’?”

“No, I actually couldn’t get up there.” Jasper said defensively. “The staircase is there, but it’s been boarded up with a bunch of ‘DO NOT ENTER’ signs and stuff. Weird, right?”

“Yeah, weird...” Rantaro agreed.

The three were so wrapped up in this that they didn’t notice someone walk down the stairs right past them.

Or, they wouldn’t have, if she hadn’t suddenly spun around when they had walked past her and shouted at them.

“HEY!”

The three of them stopped walking for a second, but it didn’t take long for Jasper to continue walking.

“I’m talking to YOU, peasants!” The voice snapped again.

“Ugh, fine!” Jasper groaned, turning around to face her.

“...Oh god, it’s you.”

“Yeah.” He said bluntly. “It’s me. What do you want?”

It was at this point that Rantaro and Kokoro decided to turn around to see who was shouting at them.

The girl was very short, about the same height as Yuuma was. She had blonde hair tied into twin ponytails underneath a wide-brim hat with a black and white diamond check pattern. She wore a white dress with a black skirt underneath a red jacket with short sleeves and white cuffs, as well as black gloves with white frills on the end. She also wore stockings with the same checkered pattern as her hat with red heels (one of which was tapping impatiently on the ground), to match her bright red eyes.

Those red eyes were glaring at the three of them.

“What I want is for you to explain to me what’s going on!” She ordered. Her voice sounded like a child actress trying too hard to put on the voice of a posh, snooty millionaire.

“I already told you.” Jasper sighed. “I have no idea.”

“Look,” Rantaro said. “None of us have any idea what’s going on. We’re all as confused as you are.”

“Did I ASK for your opinion, peasant?” She snapped. “I was talking to that one, not you!”

“..._‘Peasant’_?_”_

The girl huffed and folded her arms annoyedly. “You should learn your place! Now answer my question!”

_God,_ Rantaro thought. _This girl is acting like a bratty spoiled teen on her sixteenth birthday…_

“Okay, okay,” Kokoro said, trying to cool things down. “Can we backtrack a bit? Y’know, like, what your name is?”

The girl rolled her eyes and pouted. “Fine, but I expect some answers after this.” She waved her hand dismissively. “You two first.”

Kokoro nodded. “Right. Well, I’m Kokoro Hikari, and I’m the Ultimate Lucky Student.”

“And I’m Rantaro Amami.” Rantaro followed suit. “Ultimate Adventurer. And,” He pointed towards Jasper. “I presume you already know Jasper.”

The girl put her hands on her hips and smirked. “My name is Rikona Fumiko. And I am the Ultimate Chess Player!”

“Ultimate Chess Player?” Kokoro echoed.

_Huh. So now the checks make sense. But...She doesn’t exactly seem like the type of person who plays chess...Let alone at Ultimate level._

“Of course!” Rikona continued. “Even the most seasoned players bow down at my skills! Fuhahahaha!” She put her hand near her face and laughed, akin to the way an evil mistress in a 90s anime would do. “Even the sharpest don’t stand a chance!”

Rantaro narrowed her eyes at the girl, before whispering to Kokoro so Rikona wouldn’t hear.

“Jeez. Someone’s full of themselves.”

Kokoro restrained her giggles for a few seconds, before the three of them turned to continue their way up the stairs.

“Hey!” Rikona snapped. “Who said I was done with you!?”

They decided to ignore her and continue up the stairs, only to be answered by the sound of heels clicking angrily after them.

Rantaro rolled his eyes and turned around to see a fuming Rikona storming up the stairs after them.

_Oh dear god…_

“I told you to give me some answers!” Rikona ordered.

“Can’t. We don’t have any.” Rantaro turned around and started to continue up.

“I don’t care for your excuses! Explain this **now**!”

“For the last time, we don’t have any-” He was cut off by Rikona angrily tugging at his shirt before he could go up a step. “Wh- hey!”

“This isn’t a question, this is an order!” She hissed, not loosening her grip on Rantaro’s shirt. “Answer me, peasant!”

“And I already told you, we don’t know! Let go of me!”

“And **I** already told you, I don’t ca- OW!”

She suddenly released her grip on him, so Rantaro turned around to see what happened.

Rikona was now clutching her wrist in pain, and Jasper – who had moved next to her – was moving his hand back to his side.

“Bad bratty princess.” He said bluntly. “Bad.”

Rantaro looked at him questioningly. “...What did you do?”

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “I taught her a lesson.”

“I don’t think karate-chopping her wrist was necessary...” Kokoro said.

Jasper shrugged. “It was the only way to get her to let go.” He walked up the stairs, getting in front of the three of them. “Let’s just get out of here before I have to do it again.”

Kokoro quickly spun around to face Rikona and bowed her head a little. “Sorry about that.”

Rikona growled, still clutching her wrist. “You damn peasants better get out of my sight…!”

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah, let’s go.”

The two of them eventually got to the top of the stairs, where Jasper was waiting for them. One of the hallways had two double doors as an entrance, with a sign reading…

“Dorm rooms?” Kokoro read. “I didn’t realise this school had accommodation.”

“Me neither.” Jasper replied. “I mean, none of the schools I went to had accommodation either, so I guess I didn’t expect it.”

“Wait, schools?” Rantaro asked. “...As in…Plural?”

Jasper ignored the question and pointed down the other hallway. “I’m pretty sure I saw a rec room or something down this way before you two woke up.”

“This place has a rec room too!?” Kokoro exclaimed. “Damn, the headmaster of this place must be LOADED!”

Jasper shrugged. “Well yeah. If they had enough money to build the only Ultimate Academy in the country, then they obviously had enough money to install the works for it.”

“Yeah, I guess that-” Kokoro stopped. “Wait, ‘only’?”

Jasper looked at her incredulously for a few seconds and nodded. “...Uh, yeah. Duh. Starlight Academy is the only Ultimate Academy in the country.”

She gave him a suspicious look. “I...Kinda doubt that.”

Jasper cocked his head questioningly. “Why’s that?”

Kokoro looked like she was about to answer, but stopped.

“...I dunno, just a gut feeling...”

Jasper tutted annoyedly. “You can’t base everything on a gut feeling.” He rested his hands behind his head and continued forward past her. “Either way, the rec room’s this way.”

Kokoro pouted angrily.

Rantaro shrugged. “There are probably Ultimate Academies in other countries or something.”

“I dunno,” She turned over to him. “It just doesn’t feel like what Jasper said was right.”

“How come?”

“No clue, just...Just a feeling, I guess. Like,” she gestured a little. “There can’t be just ONE Ultimate Academy in Japan! Because...Because...I don’t know.”

“...Huh. That’s...Weird.”

“I know! But-”

“Hey!” Jasper called from up ahead. “You two coming with me or what?”

“Oh, yeah.” Rantaro nodded, starting after him with Kokoro following not too far behind.

The three of them eventually stopped nearby a door where they heard voices from inside.

“Look, all I’m saying,” A girl’s voice said, with a sweet but matured tone. “Is that this has gotta be some kinda trust building exercise by the academy!”

“I, uh, highly doubt that.” A male voice replied, with a cooler and smoother tone. “I mean, isn’t this highly illegal? In...A lot of places?”

A quiet and shaky “mmhm” came from a different person.

“Well,” the girl said. “...Uuuuuhhh...Whatevs.”

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “Oh good, they’re still here.”

“‘They’?” Rantaro asked.

“No.” Jasper said, pointing at the door. “It’s the same person doing three different voices.”

“The sarcasm wasn’t needed.”

Jasper smirked and opened the door. “It was.”

The room was not too similar to a rec room you’d find in an expensive school, with a small sofa and a number of beanbags and chairs scattered across the room, as well as an open plan unit area for making coffee and other hot drinks in the corner. In the other corner was what looked like a large gachapon machine filled with brightly coloured capsules.

The room also had three people in it, two of them being on the sofa.

A nervous looking boy was sitting on one of the chairs (far away from the sofa) fidgeting with his two silver bracelets. He wore a black cardigan with white short cuffs over a white shirt with light purple dots, as well as purple trousers and black shoes. He had spiked purple hair with two long rounded strands going over his shoulders, and wore violet glasses over his purple eyes.

The first boy on the sofa was almost unfairly attractive, with dark skin and icy blue eyes. He had dark hair, with two strands at the front dip-dyed an ice blue, and was wearing some kind of makeup or eyeliner to style two flecks at the bottom of his eyes. He was wearing a blue shirt with a white star, and grey shorts secured by a belt, as well as dark boots. He had a black jacket with light stripes over this with the sleeves rolled up, and three bracelets (light grey, white and dark grey) on his right arm. He also wore a small dark fedora-styled hat on the left side of his head.

The girl next to him was scribbling on some kind of tablet with a stylus. She had pinkish skin and rose-coloured eyes, as well as dark hair which had been styled with a three-spiked fringe at the front, with areas being dyed neon pink, rose pink and navy blue. She also wore a black hoodie with a decal showing a heart filled with static inside a circle with devil horns, with a pair of neon pink horns on the hood, which she had pulled up. She also had fingerless gloves and bracelets which looked a bit like hair scrunchies on each hand, and a long layered skirt continuing the colour scheme of her hair. She had a belt loosely over it with a black clasp shaped like a broken heart. She wore black decorated boots with 4 pointed stars on them, again continuing the colour scheme.

The three of them looked up when Jasper opened the door, and the girl’s eyes lit up as soon as she saw Kokoro. She squealed excitedly, quickly stuffing the tablet and stylus into her hoodie’s pocket, and darted straight towards Kokoro and picked her up.

“OH! MY! GOOOOD!!!” She squealed, spinning the smaller girl around. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?!?”

Kokoro, who was still registering what has happening, eventually reacted.

“I could ask you the same thing!”

Rantaro and Jasper watched the scene unfold, then glanced to each other, confused.

The boy with the fedora laughed to himself a little, while the nervous boy shifted his gaze back over to his bracelets timidly.

Rantaro cleared his throat. “Well. Um. Who is this?”

The girl stopped spinning for half a second to see them. “Heeeey! Topaz, right? You’re back!”

“Jasper.” Jasper corrected. “And, uh,” He turned to Kokoro. “You know her?”

“Yeah!” Kokoro nodded, as the girl put her down. “She did a commission for me a while back. Turns out we had a lot in common, so we started chatting.”

“Commission?” Rantaro asked.

“She means as in art commissions.” Jasper said. “Online artists do those sometimes. They’re basically like requests, but you pay for them.”

The girl puffed her cheeks up in frustration. “Hey, there’s more to it than that!” She jabbed her finger at him angrily. “The price depends on how complex the piece is or how many people are in it or if it’s a full body shot or a headshot or-”

“Whoa, hey!” Rantaro said, trying to calm her down. “So, you’re an artist?”

The girl nodded. “Yup!”

Kokoro leaned over to him and whispered “And a pretty big one at that!” with a wink.

The girl suddenly snapped to attention, as if realising something.

“Oh! I should probably have introduced myself, huh?”

“Uh...Yeah?” Rantaro said with a bit of a shrug.

“You probably know me by my handle of SweetDevil45<3,” The girl introduced, dusting her hands off a little. “And I am Amai Akuma!” She saluted with a peace sign. “Ultimate Digital Artist, at your service!”

Rantaro internally admitted that he didn’t recognise the girl’s internet handle at all, but he knew that this girl was going to be interesting.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you.” He briefly looked over to Kokoro; who was bouncing excitedly next to him, and Jasper; who was just surveying the scene calmly. “You already know Kokoro and Jasper I presume, so...” He offered his hand to her. “I’m Rantaro Amami. Ultimate Adventurer.”

“Rantaaaaroooo!” Amai quickly took his hand for a brisk handshake. “That is a NICE name. Sweet, three syllables, kinda rolls of the tongue-”

“Okay, okay.” Rantaro eased his hand out of the excitable girl’s grip.

“Right, Amai.” Jasper started, deciding to take the helm of the conversation.

“Yes, Topaz?”

“Jasper. Let me just ask you something. Do you remember anything before getting here?”

Amai blinked at him confusedly for a few seconds. The other two people in the room also seemed to start paying attention after hearing Jasper’s question.

“Uhh...” Amai put a finger to her chin. “Mm...Well...”

Jasper nodded, urging her to answer. “Well…?”

“Well...I remember getting my acceptance letter by email. But my memory’s really foggy, I can’t remember anything after that.”

Jasper put his hand to his chin, interested. “...Huh.”

“I dunno,” Amai shrugged. “I mean, I’ve always had problems with my memory, so I guess-”

“U-um...I don’t think so...”

Everyone stopped to notice the boy near the back of the room had spoken up. He jolted a little then went silent again as soon as they turned to him.

“What was that?” Jasper asked.

The boy shuddered nervously and shook his head.

“Look,” Jasper continued. “I just want to know what you were trying to say.”

It took a while for him to say anything, and even then his voice was still very shaky.

“...I don’t think it’s just because of your memory problems...”

“Eh?” Amai asked. “Why not?”

“W-well...U-uh...” The boy continued nervously. “...I don’t remember anything after getting my acceptance letter either...”

“What!?” Kokoro exclaimed.

“The kid’s got a point,” Jasper turned over to Rantaro. “Do you remember anything?”

“Me? Well...” Rantaro stopped to think. “I had just gotten back from a trip from Singapore and the letter was on the table, so I went to go tell my dad and...” He paused. “...Oh god, you’re right.”

He wasn’t telling the whole truth, though. He did remember having an argument with his father not too long after reading the letter, but he didn’t exactly want that to be known by people who were technically complete strangers.

“Okay, this just keeps getting weirder and weirder. I mean sure,” He pointed to Amai. “It would make sense if it was one person. But at least four people?” He folded his arms. “This is no coincidence.”

“Yeah, but what would the academy gain by making us lose our memory?” Kokoro asked.

Jasper shrugged. “Who knows? I mean, the fact that we all woke up here with no memory of getting here is weird enough.” He started to pace a little. “And we don’t have our phones, or any money, or any memory of what happened after we got our acceptance letter. Point is,” He stopped pacing. “This is not how trust exercises work.”

Rantaro gave him a slightly nervous look. “...So you’re saying...The academy _kidnapped_ us?”

“I don’t know for sure, but it would certainly be profitable for them. I mean, we’re **ultimate students**. The best of our field! Imagine how much money people would get if they auctioned us off?”

“Don’t say that!” Kokoro argued. “We don’t know if they kidnapped us!”

“We don’t, but it is pretty likely, isn’t it?”

“But if they did kidnap us,” Amai asked. “Why would they bring us to the academy? Wouldn’t they lock us up in an abandoned bunker or something like in the movies?”

Jasper stopped. “...That’s actually a really good point.”

“Okay,” Kokoro said. “Can we dwell on this later? Please? When there’s more people to go over this with?”

“Ugh, fine...” Jasper groaned annoyedly.

The other boy on the couch sighed and stood up. “Well, that certainly was something...”

Rantaro took a closer look at him. For some reason, he couldn’t really shake the feeling that he had seen him somewhere before.

The boy must have noticed him staring, so he walked over.

“Hey there.” He said in a very smooth voice. “Pretty confusing, huh?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Yeah,” Kokoro leaned in. “That’s kinda an understa-” She stopped as soon as she laid eyes on him, her expression matching the face you’d make if you saw a celebrity at your local grocery store. “aaaaaaaaaaaaa…”

Both him and Rantaro looked over to Kokoro as her voice continued to trail off, her reaction even getting Jasper and Amai’s attention.

“aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...”

“Uh...Kokoro?” Rantaro lightly tapped her arm to get her attention. “...What are you doing?”

She suddenly snapped back to reality.

“UNDERSTATEMENT! YEAH! UNDERSTATEMENT!”

Rantaro gave her a confused look.

“Rantaro…!” She whispered, as to not get the other boy’s attention. “Do you have any idea who you’re talking to…!?”

The boy suddenly laughed to himself, as if realising what was going on.

“Yeah, I should’ve known something like this was coming...Hahahah...”

Rantaro looked at him, confused, before turning back to Kokoro with the same expression. Sure, he felt a weird sense of deja vu from seeing him, but...

“...I have no idea who this guy is.” He whispered.

“You WHAT…!?”

“Whoa, little lady, chill!” The boy reassured. “It’s honestly a lot better if I’m not recognised by everyone who walks past me, y’know.” He looked back over to Rantaro. “I guess introductions are in order then, huh?”

“Yeah.” Rantaro nodded. “I’m Rantaro Amami, Ultimate Adventurer. And this,” he gestured at Kokoro, who was still a bit giddy. “...Is Kokoro. She’s the Ultimate Lucky Student.”

“Haruto Sora.” He extended a hand with a smile. “Ultimate Broadway Actor. Pleasure’s all mine.”

As Rantaro shook his hand, he remembered he might have heard that name before. A few of his sisters had mentioned his name at some point probably.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Haruto replied with a polite smile. “So you’re an adventurer, right? That sounds pretty cool.”

“I guess it is,” Rantaro said with a shrug.

“And the little lady said she’s lucky. Not trying to sound rude or anything, but what does that mean?”

Kokoro didn’t respond at first, seemingly still giddy that the boy was even talking to her directly.

He sighed and tried to reassure her. “Hey hey, you can calm down now. I don’t bite.”

“U-uh, okay!” She quickly cleared her throat a little. “Well, uh, I basically won a draw in order to get in. It’s kinda dumb compared to being an actor, or an adventurer, orrr…?” She turned over to Jasper, prompting him to give her some kind of hint.

He just shook his head with a laugh. “Nice try.”

“Dammit.”

Haruto shrugged. “I think it’s cool.”

She stopped. “Wait, really?”

“Well, yeah. It’s like a one in a million chance, right? It has to amount to something.”

“U-um...Thank you...”

“No problem.”

Haruto wasn’t like what Rantaro assumed from hearing his talent. He thought he would be more condescending and prideful, but he was pretty much the opposite.

Not to mention, he was also really pretty. His eyes and hairdye provided a nice contrast to his face, not to mention the way he styled his hair was just-

_Focus, Rantaro. Focus._

“Hey, look at this!”

Rantaro stopped for a moment to notice that Kokoro had walked over to the gachapon machine in the corner of the room.

He turned back over to Haruto, who shrugged.

“You heard her.”

Rantaro nodded and walked over.

“What, is this some kind of arcade machine?” Rantaro asked. He had remembered seeing one of his sisters playing on something similar to it on a trip to an arcade once.

“Yeah, it’s like one of those things where you put a coin in and a prize comes out. Like a keychain or something. But look,” She pointed at the machine. “It has the same symbol the vending machines from earlier had!”

Kokoro was right. Next to the slot where you’d put a coin in, the same sign with the pictures of a coin and a bear’s head split in half was shown. The machine also had the word “MONOMONO” printed in large letters on the semi-transparent case where all the capsules were kept.

“‘Monomono’?” Rantaro read. “What is ‘Monomono’ supposed to mean?”

Kokoro shrugged. “Beats me. I’m just confused as to what any of these machines take. Hell, the fact that they’re here at all when none of us have any money or anything is confusing!”

“I mean, this is a school. I guess they had to have them somewhere. But...” He took a closer look at the sign. “The fact that they went to the effort to change what these machines take is beyond me...” He took a step back from the machine. “Jasper’s definitely onto something.”

“U-um...”

“Huh?” Rantaro stopped and turned around to notice the only other boy in the room had gotten up and walked over to them. He was pressing his forefingers against each other nervously and it looked like he was struggling to maintain eye contact.

“Oh. Hi. I don’t think I’ve met you yet.” Rantaro continued.

The boy nodded, but didn’t say anything.

_The poor guy must be too scared to get a word out...Well this IS a pretty scary situation._

“Well, I’m Rantaro Amami, and I’m the Ultimate Adventurer.” He gestured to Kokoro. “And this is Kokoro Hikari, the Ultimate Lucky Student.”

The boy didn’t reply.

“Hey, there’s no need to be so nervous. I don’t bite.”

It took a few seconds for the boy to say something.

“...K...Kaoru Odayaka...Ultimate Paediatrician...”

“Paediatrician?” Rantaro echoed. From what he knew, a paediatrician was a specialist doctor who worked with children and adolescents.

Kaoru nodded. “Y-yeah...”

“Wait,” Kokoro asked. “So does that mean you have medical training?”

“I guess...I mean I know some things but...The complicated stuff isn’t exactly my focus...”

“So you mainly help children, right?” Rantaro asked.

“Y-yes!” Kaoru replied, sounding a bit more cheerful than earlier. “It’s not much, but...It’s good to help, right?”

Rantaro nodded. “Of course.”

“I’m just...Surprised that they thought I was good enough to send me here...”

“Well, you were obviously good enough to consider you an ultimate level.”

Kaoru didn’t reply. He just nodded shakily and got back to nervously fiddling with his bracelets.

_He must be really nervous right now…The poor guy’s practically terrified…_

Rantaro figured he should try to reassure him. He had successfully managed to calm his sisters after nightmares on numerous occasions, after all. Even though they were completely different circumstances, it didn’t hurt to try.

“Look, uh...” He started, managing to get Kaoru’s attention again. “...This might seem scary now, and I know that none of us know what’s going on, but...” He gave him a reassuring, albeit slightly forced smile. “Everything’s gonna be okay. Got that?”

Even though he still looked scared, Kaoru’s expression softened a little and he nodded.

“Good.” Rantaro replied. He turned back over to Jasper. “Is there anywhere else you need to take us?”

“Well, there is somewhere.” He gestured with his hand for him and Kokoro to follow. “C’mon.”

They both nodded and started to leave, but Rantaro hung back a little and turned over to Kaoru.

He traced an arch shape across his face to mimic a smile. “Keep your chin up, okay?”

Kaoru nodded, albeit a little uneasily.

Haruto did a two-fingered salute as the three of them left. “See you guys later.”

The three of them continued down the hallway before Jasper spoke up.

“You sure things are gonna be okay?”

“Huh?” Rantaro asked. “What do you mean?”

“I was listening to your conversation with Kaoru.”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “Uh, creepy?”

Jasper shrugged. “Not really. Anyway,” he put his hand to his chin quizzically. “Are you _really _sure things are gonna be okay?”

Rantaro thought for a moment, then sighed. “I don’t know...I guess I just said it to lift his spirits.” _I mean it works on my sisters sometimes when they’re feeling down, so I figured…_

“What, so just because it apparently works on your sisters you figured it would work on him?”

Rantaro froze, as he hadn’t actually said the last part out loud.

“...What?”

Jasper blinked for a few seconds. “Your sisters. You mentioned them earlier, remember?” He continued. “You said they were all younger than you, so I figured it would be something you’d do with them.”

“R-right...” Rantaro said, still a little unsettled by the fact that Jasper was somehow able to read his thoughts like that.

_How the hell did he know what I was thinking…?_

“Well whatever,” Jasper promptly continued leading them, unfazed by the situation. “The place is this way.”

Rantaro, however, was still unnerved. “Mmhm...”

Kokoro, who obviously hadn’t picked up on the situation, asked “You okay there?”

“Huh? Oh, uh...Yeah.”

She gave him a disbelieving look, before shrugging as the two continued down the hall.

As they were walking, Rantaro couldn’t help but keep an eye on Jasper in front.

Sure, he was a bit unusual already, but this…Was something else.

But before he had any time to think about that, they had arrived at the room Jasper was leading them to.

The room in question was a massive library; feeling bigger on the inside than the door suggested. As well as the shelves upon shelves of various books, there were also some desks with chairs to read at.

There was a girl asleep on one of the desks in question. She had an oversized grey dress coat with long sleeves which looked comfy just from looking at it. She had medium-length, but flowy brunette hair, which was draped over her head and shoulders as she was lying in a near face-down position on the desk.

Rantaro and Kokoro both shot Jasper a look.

“...What?” He asked. “She was awake when I talked to her.”

The three of them walked over to her. Jasper clicked his fingers a few times an an attempt to get the girl’s attention.

“Ayano?” He said, still clicking. “You there? There’s more people to talk to.”

The girl – apparently called Ayano – stirred a little, but didn’t wake up.

Jasper rolled his eyes and knocked on the desk. “Ayano, wake up!”

“E-eh…?” The girl stopped and lifted her head from the desk. She was unconventionally pretty – with blue eyes with slight dark circles, and her hair was styled with a blue hairclip in the shape of a divide symbol.

“Ah...” She got up and stretched a bit – revealing herself to be _very_ tall – and flicked a stray strand of hair into place. “Good morning. Is it time for class yet…?”

Jasper shrugged. “We don’t even know what time it is right now. Let alone if we have classes at all. But,” he gestured towards Kokoro and Rantaro. “There are some people who need to introduce themselves.”

“Huuh…?” She seemed to only just notice the two other people with him. “Oh. Hey there.”

Rantaro decided to go first. “I’m Rantaro Amami, and I’m the Ultimate Adventurer.”

“And I’m Kokoro Hikari,” Kokoro said. “Ultimate Lucky Student.”

“It was Ayano, right?”

She nodded. “Mmhm. Ayano Sunako, Ultimate Physicist.”

“Physicist, huh?” Kokoro asked. “What, is that science with loads of numbers and stuff?”

Ayano’s outfit didn’t really give away her talent, but her hairclip and the fact that her dress coat looked a bit like a comfier version of a scientist’s lab coat did.

Ayano puffed her cheeks in irritation. “There’s a bit more to it than that…! Mathematics is a large factor, but it is mainly the study of motion and behaviour of different types of matter through space and time.”

This seemed to go in one ear and out the other. “...So math.”

Jasper shrugged. “Math with context.”

“Oh.”

Ayano sat back down on the chair, and rested her head on top of her arms on the desk. “Where are we, anyway?”

“Hell if I know.” Rantaro replied. “I mean sure, it looks like we’re in Starlight Academy, but...Things seem off.”

Ayano nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“I mean...Do you usually wake up on a desk?”

She shrugged. “Sometimes when I fall asleep in class.”

“...This is a library.”

“Yeah, that’s happened a few times too...”

Kokoro raised an eyebrow. “Uh...HOW many hours of sleep do you get at night?”

Ayano narrowed her eyes, not saying anything for a bit.

“…...Uh...”

“‘UH’!?”

“Mm, whatever...” She yawned tiredly. “Class hasn’t started yet...” She rested her head back on the desk again.

Kokoro gave Rantaro a worried look.

“...Is...She gonna be-?”

She was interrupted by the faint sound of someone humming. Whoever it was apparently wasn’t too far away. The tune was calm and serene, [almost invoking the image of cherry blossom trees in the wind from the song alone.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtkBU3bV0tY)

“There’s someone else?” Rantaro asked, turning to Jasper.

Jasper seemed to recognise the “voice” almost immediately. “O-oh. Uh...Yeah.” He started heading in the direction of the voice. “This way.”

The three of them eventually found the source of the voice; a tall boy (the same height as Ayano) with long white hair tied in a ponytail flicking through the spines of the different books on one of the shelves. He was wearing a grey short-sleeved top which cut off at the end into a v-shape over a white top, with black trousers and dark Japanese-style wooden sandals on his lower half, as well as a dark brown belt.

He stopped humming when he heard the others approach and turned around to face them. His eyes were a light grey colour, and his hair was styled with two long strands going over each of his shoulders. He almost looked effeminate in a way, and was quite attractive as a result.

However, turning around also revealed he had a shortsword in a small sheath on his belt.

“Uh...” Jasper said, almost nervously. “Hi.”

“Hey.” The boy replied. “Jasper, right?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

He bowed his head politely. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Y-yeah, same...” Jasper said, glancing away.

Rantaro took a note of Jasper’s...Odd behaviour, before quickly looking back at the stranger.

It didn’t take long for him to realise what was going on.

_Is he...Flustered…!?_

“And I see you brought some friends with you.”

“Oh yeah!” Jasper replied, seemingly relieved that the boy had changed the subject. “Do you guys wanna...Introduce yourselves?”

Rantaro shrugged. “Yeah, sure.”

Jasper nodded and took a step back. While he was doing this, Rantaro took the opportunity to quickly whisper in his ear.

“You like him, don’t you~?”

Jasper elbowed him in the side. “Shut up…!”

Kokoro, oblivious to the two boys next to her, introduced herself. “My name is Kokoro Hikari. I’m the Ultimate Lucky student. And this is Rantaro Amami, the Ultimate Adventurer; and...You evidently already know Jasper.”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “I can speak for myself, you know.”

The boy laughed in amusement before introducing himself.

“I am Miko Tsunade. And I am the Ultimate Bladesmith.” He bowed a little in respect. “It’s nice to meet you.

Rantaro smiled a little. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

“That explains the sword.” Kokoro said, pointing towards the shortsword on his belt. “What, do you carry it in case you wanna start a fight, or-?”

Miko’s eyes widened a little. “What? Oh no no no, nothing like that!” He looked over his shoulder sheepishly. “...I don’t really like violence...”

“Wait, you don’t?” Kokoro asked, confused. “You make swords...But you don’t like violence. Isn’t that kinda a...Aaaa...” She turned to Jasper. “What’s that word for two things that are completely different?”

“Oxymoron?” Jasper replied.

“That, yeah.”

Miko sighed. “Yeah, I get that a lot...”

“Then how come you carry that longsword arou-”

“Shortsword.”

“Eh?”

“It’s a shortsword, not a longsword.” He suddenly unsheathed the sword to demonstrate, causing Rantaro and Kokoro to take a step back.

“See?” He continued, tracing his finger across the blade a bit. “A longsword should have a much longer blade than this.”

Kokoro raised her eyebrows. “Ah. Sorry, I don’t know much about swords.”

Miko smiled politely. “It’s fine. And to answer your question,” He put his shortsword back in the sheath on his belt. “I carry this for the times when I _need_ to use it.”

“Did...You make that yourself?” Rantaro asked.

_Dammit, that was a stupid question…_

“Yes, it was one of the first blades I made, actually. It’s not as good as ones I’ve made later, but...It’s the only one I have on me right now.”

“Oh yeah,” Rantaro replied, remembering that some of people’s belongings were missing. “Do you not have your phone either?”

Miko gave him a confused look.

“You know,” Kokoro said. “Your mobile phone. Like, the thing you call people with.”

“I’ve...” Miko answered, confused. “Never had one.”

Kokoro’s eyes widened. “Wait, you’ve WHAT?”

Miko shrugged. “I’ve don’t have a phone.”

“Then how do you keep in contact with your family!?”

Miko suddenly froze, his eyes widening a little.

“Well...Uh...” He stammered, before quickly changing the subject. “Do you think that the academy staff will be in touch soon?”

Rantaro shrugged. “We haven’t seen any staff yet. Kinda weird, to be honest...I mean, for an Ultimate Academy, they don’t have a lot of people working here, if any.”

“I was homeschooled, so I wouldn’t know.”

“Figures.”

“Well,” Jasper suddenly stepped forward. “I’m gonna talk with him a bit if you two don’t mind.”

“Wait,” Kokoro asked. “Are there any other people?”

“Well, there IS one. You’ll run into him soon enough.”

It didn’t take long for Rantaro to realise what was going on.

“Yeah Kokoro, we’d better head. See what else is around here.”

He quickly whispered to Jasper again. “I can see why you like him.”

This earned him another elbow in the side.

“Okay, okay.” Rantaro stepped back, before looking over to Miko. “It was nice to talk.”

Miko nodded politely. “Likewise.”

Rantaro and Kokoro moved over to another shelf, that wasn’t too nearby but wasn’t too far away.

“Whoa...” Kokoro mused, looking at the rows upon rows of bookshelves. “This place goes on forever…!”

“Half of these don’t even have any titles on the spines,” Rantaro noted, flicking through the different titles.

“Quite a few old books are like that.” A voice explained from nearby, prompting Rantaro to turn around.

The owner of the voice was unfairly attractive, with fiery coloured eyes and hair in a short ponytail over his left shoulder. His hair also had a slight curved spike, that had been gelled down. He had a golden bead necklace and a designer-like white jacket over a white shirt with a red diamond pattern, with purple trousers and tall, thick orange boots; all of these giving away that he had a lot of money.

Rantaro had only one thought when he first saw him.

_...Oh damn._

The boy traced over some of the book spines with his finger, noting the ones that did have titles on them. “Dickens, Shakespeare, Brontë – oh they have Orwell. Nice.”

“...You like George Orwell?”

Kokoro cocked her head in confusion. “Who?”

“Author.”

“Yeah, of course. This one’s my personal favourite, actually.” The boy replied, taking out one of the books, revealing a decoration of a large eye.

“Nineteen Eighty-Four.”

Kokoro still looked confused, so he decided to provide some context.

“It’s set in a dystopian future where the public are forced to live under constant surveillance by an omnipresent dictator called Big Brother. Some people aren’t even sure that Big Brother exists, but someone is always watching.” He put it back on the shelf. “...It was written in the 40s.”

“...Huh.” Kokoro raised her eyebrows. “You seem to know your stuff about old books.”

He gave her a deadpan look. “Was that an insult?”

“What!? Nonono I-”

“Whoa, calm down! I’m kidding!” He laughed, before continuing. “Don’t think I’ve met either of you before.”

“Oh, uh,” Rantaro started. “I don’t think we’ve met you either.”

Though for some reason, he had felt he had seen this charismatic stranger before, but he couldn’t quite place his finger on it.

Kokoro decided to introduce herself first. “Well, I’m Kokoro Hikari. I’m the Ultimate Lucky Student.”

“And I’m Rantaro. Rantaro A-”

“Amami, right?” The boy finished his sentence.

Rantaro took a bit of a step back. “...Y...Yes…?”

The boy smiled to himself. “I knew I recognised you from somewhere...You’re a traveller, right?”

Rantaro was still a bit shocked that this person somehow knew his name, but replied anyway.

“...Adventurer. But...Close enough.”

“Hmm...Traveller sounds a bit better. Has a bit of a romantic edge to it.”

“I, uh...Don’t really like the romantic edge. Kinda makes me sound too much like the love interest in a cliched teen girl’s novel...”

The boy laughed at Rantaro’s remark, suddenly reminding him to get his bearings back.

“...Wait, how did you know my name!?”

The boy stopped. “Oh yeah, guess I should explain that. I have to travel a bit sometimes for research, and when I was in Puerto Rico to study Columbus’ second voyage, I heard whispers of a young adventurer travelling across the world, and obviously got interested. I didn’t do any further research than that, but...” He shrugged. “Does that answer your question?”

_Oh right, he just heard about me through my travels. Thank god, I thought he had found out about…_

_Never mind._

“Yeah, that does.”

“...Oh right, guess it’s my turn now.” The boy realised, before introducing himself.

“I’m Saiko Aishi. Ultimate Historian. It’s a pleasure.”

Rantaro stopped. “...Wait. Saiko Aishi?”

Kokoro looked at the two of them, confused. “Wait, you know HIM too!?”

“He wrote a ton of papers and stuff on historical events,” Rantaro explained. “Some of his writing even got published by pretty big names in the press!”

Saiko shrugged. “Well, when your dad’s a history professor at a well-known college, you can do a lot of things.”

Rantaro raised his eyebrows, impressed. “...Nice.”

Kokoro’s face fell a little, looking...Almost jealous.

Rantaro noticed. “You okay?”

“Huh? Oh, uh...Yeah.”

_Is she jealous of me and Saiko indirectly knowing each other?_ Rantaro thought. _But...I only met her a few minutes ago...Why would she be-_

DING-DONG-DONG-DING!

His train of thought was stopped by the sound, followed by a loud buzz of static.

The noise grabbed everyone’s attention; causing Miko and Jasper to stop talking, and even prompting Ayano to wake up a little and lift her head from the desk.

The source of the noise was a large screen – which Rantaro hadn’t noticed when he came into the room – showing the slight silhouette of what looked like a bear superimposed on a flurry of static.

“Ahem, ah...Testing, testing! Mike check, one-two, one-two...Wait, is this thing even on?...Got it!” A high voice crackled out, the sound of the static still under it.

The voice was concerningly playful and detached, almost feeling a bit out of place; the voice alone bringing a slight feeling of dread.

“Heeee-llo everyone! I know you can hear me!” The voice went on. “I would like to start the entrance ceremony aaaaat...Immediately! So please make your way to the stage room on the ground floor! You’ll know you got the right one since it has a massive stage in the middle! And that seems to be everything, so see you soon! Upupu...” The voice seemed to laugh a little. “I’ll be waiting~”

The voice stopped, the static and the visual cutting out not too long after.

Jasper was the first person to say anything.

“...Okay, was I hallucinating or did everyone else see that?”

“No, you...Definitely weren’t hallucinating.” Saiko replied.

“What the hell WAS that…?” Rantaro asked, not expecting to receive any answer.

“Mm...” Ayano started to lay her head back on the desk. “Maybe it’s time for class...”

“From what I gather,” Miko suggested. “It looked like some kind of announcement for the entrance ceremony.”

“Yeah, but what did the bear mean?” Kokoro asked.

“...Bear?”

“Yeah, if you looked close enough, you could see a shadow of a bear over the static. Weird, right?”

“Thank GOD, I thought I was going crazy when I saw that!” Jasper exclaimed.

Rantaro nodded slowly. “...Yeah, I...Think I saw that too...”

Kokoro shrugged. “Does the academy have a mascot or something?”

“Who knows.” Jasper replied.

“So what,” Saiko asked. “Was this all some elaborate stunt to get us to the entrance ceremony?”

“Could be,” Jasper shrugged. “...But that still leaves quite a lot of loose ends. Like why we don’t have our phones on us, or why we suddenly woke up here.”

“Or why those screens keep popping up.” Kokoro added.

“Yeah, and why all those screens keep popping- wait.”

She nodded. “Yeah, I noticed them in some of the other rooms.”

“...Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I don’t know, some other schools have screens in some rooms to show school news and stuff like that. I thought that is what it could be for.”

“Well...That evidently ISN’T what they’re for.”

“Either way,” Miko started to walk off. “The best course of action may be to follow that voice’s instructions.”

“But what if it’s a trap?” Rantaro argued.

“It might be, it might not be. Won’t find out until we see it.”

Miko walked over to Ayano, who had somehow fallen fast asleep again.

“Ayano, it’s time to wake up.”

She stirred a little. “...Five more minutes...”

“You heard the announcement. We need to head to the stage room. You need to get up.”

Ayano didn’t reply.

Miko sighed. “I’m sorry...I didn’t want to do this, but...”

He suddenly picked Ayano up and hoisted her over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift, not disturbing her in the slightest, before casually walking out of the door.

Everyone was a bit startled by the suddenness of it that no-one did anything for a few seconds.

Jasper finally stepped forward. “Well, you heard the man. Let’s go.”

He started walking towards the door, but stopped and turned around to realise that none of the others were following him.

“...Are you guys coming, or…?”

Rantaro wanted to follow Jasper to the stage room, but the uneasy feeling that the voice gave him wouldn’t go away. And it seems he wasn’t the only one.

“I dunno...” Kokoro said. “This doesn’t feel right.”

“Understatement of the century.” Saiko added.

“Well, yeah.” Jasper agreed. “But just standing here doesn’t mean we’ll be safe. Besides...” He smiled a little. “...Aren’t you guys a _little_ curious to see what’s waiting for us there?”

Jasper’s smile was a little...No, it was straight up unnerving, but Rantaro couldn’t help but agree with him.

“Yeah, if we stay put, we aren’t really achieving anything...” He said. “That thing said the stage room, right?”

“Yeah, where you two met Ahmya and Yuuma.” He replied. “Seems like a pretty good place for an entrance ceremony if you ask me.”

“Wait, Rantaro,” Saiko asked. “You’re actually going?”

Rantaro shrugged. “...Not much else we can do, is there? You guys coming with us?”

Saiko thought for a moment. “...Okay, what the hell. But if the three of us end up dying,” He pointed at Jasper. “I’m blaming him.”

Jasper smirked. “Can’t blame anyone when you’re dead.”

Saiko stepped back a little. “...That was unnecessarily dark.”

“Nobody’s gonna die!” Kokoro argued, before sighing. “...I’m coming too, anyway. This is weird...But I want to see what’s going on.”

“That settles it.” Jasper clapped his hands together. “Let’s go.”

It didn’t take long for the four of them to arrive at the stage room, and it seemed they were the last group of people to arrive, as everyone they had already met – including Miko and the now awake Ayano – had beaten them there.

But other than a podium on the stage, nothing seemed different. Which made the setup even more unnerving.

“There you are!” Yuuma said. “You’re finally here! What, were you contemplating coming here on the way here?”

Kokoro shrugged. “A bit.”

“I think all of us were.” Ahmya agreed.

“You all heard that announcement too?”

“No shit, Sherlock.” Tsumugi snapped. “Why else would all of us be here?”

Miko narrowed his eyes. “Your tone wasn’t necessary.”

Kaoru, who was probably even more nervous than he was before, asked “D-does anyone know what’s going on?”

“None of us have any idea.” Rantaro answered. “All we got was whatever that voice was.”

“What if it was a teacher using a weird voice modifier?” Amai suggested with a laugh. “HAH! Cracked it!”

“I don’t think you’ve cracked anything.” Jasper said bluntly.

“Yeah...” Ayano rubbed one of her eyes. “There aren’t any teachers here, are there…?”

“Eh,” Rikona shrugged. “I didn’t see any when I was looking around.”

“Tch...” Sachiko tutted. “Vast improvement if you ask me.”

“Okay everybody, just calm down.” Haruto said reassuringly. “If there is a teacher somewhere, then they’re bound to show themselves any second now.”

Almost as if on cue, the voice from earlier piped up.

“Hey there! Hello, everyone!”

Everyone turned towards the stage, the voice seeming to come from…

...Behind the podium.

Haruto raised his eyebrows. “Huh. Speak of the devil.”

Rantaro shook his head. _I’ve got a bad feeling about this..._

“Is everyone here? Good! Great! Perfect, even!” The voice continued. “Then without further ado...Let’s get things rolling!”

Without warning, the owner of the voice suddenly leapt up from behind the podium. The figure spent a while in the air, doing a number of flips for style, before landing on the podium to reveal…

“A...Stuffed animal?” Kokoro asked, confused. Everyone seemed to have a similar reaction.

The stuffed animal in question was a large bear. It’s colour scheme had been split in half, with one side being white and the other being black. While the white side looked normal, the black side’s eye was red and jagged, with a large toothy smile.

The bear puffed out his cheeks. “Hey, I’m not a stuffed animal! Do I look like a build-a-bear to you!?”

Tsumugi, who looked a bit unfazed compared to the rest of the group, shrugged. “...Kinda.”

The bear growled. “Moving on...” He cleared his throat. “I aaaaaam...Monokuma! And I am this school’s headmaster!”

And that’s when things went from bad to worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And heeeeere's Monokuma!  
...Oh yeah, the rest of the cast are here too. Yay!  
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! And thank you for actually reading this! <3  
(comments and kudos are very much appreciated!)


	3. The Game Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With all the students gathered, Monokuma announces the beginning of their first semester at Starlight Academy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry this took so long, like with DanganRWBY uni and life in general were just being a pain kagh-

“Okay,” Haruto said. “That’s...Not exactly what I meant.”

Both Amhya and Sachiko readied themselves to draw their bow and katana respectively, while Miko (the only other person with a weapon) tried to get them to stop.

“Guys, please! We can’t be taking out weapons right now!”

“Yeah, we can’t have my students pulling weapons on me on the first day!” Monokuma agreed.

He briefly turned over in his direction and said “I’ll get to you in a second.” Before resuming trying to calm the two girls down.

“Uh,” Yuuma asked, gesturing towards Monokuma. “Is **nobody** gonna address the talking-teddy-bear-shaped elephant in the room?”

“Yeah, like how the hell it’s talking!...And moving!” Rikona seconded.

“It’s probably like those animatronic animals you get in those kiddie pizza places.” Amai answered. “I’ve gotten WAY too many many weird commission requests I never actually did to know that...” She added with a bit of a shiver.

“I’m not like THOSE cheap robots!” Monokuma growled. “I am Monokuma!”

“Yeah, you said that already!” Tsumugi growled back.

While everyone else was talking amongst themselves, Kokoro quickly leaned over to Rantaro.

“You reckon this guy’s for real?” She whispered. “I mean, he just said he was the headmaster, buuuuut...”

Rantaro shrugged. “I am honestly too confused to know.”

He heard someone quietly whimpering behind him, and turned around to realise that Kaoru had darted behind him in a panic as soon as the bear had shown up without him noticing.

“Whoa, hey!” Rantaro said, trying to reassure him. “Calm down, alright? It’s gonna be fine.”

Kaoru was still in too much of a panic to properly calm down, but he uneasily nodded anyway.

Saiko still kept his eyes on the bear on the podium. “...Okay, is this some sort of joke?”

“This is NOT a joke!” Monokuma snapped, before turning in a different direction. “And you at the back! WAKE UP AND LISTEN WHILE I’M TALKING TO YOU!”

Ayano, who had obviously started to fall asleep again, snapped back to attention. “E-eh…!? Did I miss anything?”

“_**SHUT UP!!!**_”

Everyone suddenly stopped talking at Jasper’s terrifyingly forceful command and fell into an uncomfortable silence.

Despite having literally just screamed at everyone, Jasper calmly adjusted his glasses and addressed Monokuma. “Okay, continue.”

Even Monokuma appeared to be thrown a little off balance. “...Uhhh...Okay then. Thanks, I guess.”

Jasper shrugged. “I was getting sick of the noise.”

“Yeah, but was screaming bloody murder really necessary?” Kokoro argued.

“Yes. It was.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever!” Monokuma dismissed them, eager to continue his speech. “I am Mono-”

“That’s gotta be at least the third time you said that.” Tsumugi interrupted.

“Zip it!”

“Okay, so when’s the back and forth gonna stop and someone’s gonna address what he said earlier?” Kokoro discreetly said to Rantaro.

Not discreetly enough apparently, as Jasper was able to hear it.

He just calmly replied “Wait for it...”

Almost as if on cue, Miko spoke up. “If I may,”

“There it is.”

“I apologise, I’m rather unfamiliar with this kind of schooling system...” He continued sheepishly. “But you earlier referred to yourself as under the title of ‘headmaster’. What exactly does that mean?”

“Eh?” Monokuma gave him a confused look before realising something. “Ohhh yeah, you don’t know what a headmaster is, do ya?”

“I’m sorry, was I supposed to?”

“In short,” Monokuma explained. “A headmaster is the guy in charge of the school. And here I am, folks!”

Everyone stared at Monokuma in stunned silence.

“YOU’RE the headmaster?” Rikona asked skeptically.

“Of course I am! Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I can think of a few reasons,” Yuuma said. “And at least half of them start with ‘talking stuffed animal’.”

“Hey, I thought we were PAST the stuffed animal stage!”

“This is so stupid...” Ahmya muttered under her breath.

“Preaching with the choir on that one.” Yuuma agreed.

“Maybe it’s not like that,” Ayano yawned, still half-asleep. “Maybe there’s someone controlling Monokuma, and they’re using him as some kind of avatar.”

“Oh yeah, that makes a lot more sense!” Amai agreed.

“I-I’m not some avatar!” Monokuma sputtered angrily. “You should treat your headmaster with respect!”

Rantaro was...Very confused. Of course, waking up in a nurse’s office in Starlight Academy was weird enough, but now a two-toned talking bear had appeared and was calling himself their headmaster.

But before he could question whether this was some kind of weird dream, Jasper suddenly spoke up again.

“Yeah yeah, that’s enough chit-chat. Just get to the point.” He said directly to Monokuma. “You brought us all here for a reason didn’t you?”

“Well yeah,” Rikona said. “Were you paying attention to that announcement? The opening ceremony.”

“No.”

“...No!?”

“No...” He turned back over to Monokuma. “You didn’t bring us here for some opening ceremony...Did you?”

Monokuma didn’t say anything for a bit.

“...Huh.” He finally said. “You’re a lot more inquisitive than I thought. However,” he continued. “We should really get things moving along! And it’s hard to do that when all of my students are talking over me! So SHUT UP FOR FIVE SECONDS!”

The entire room was uneasily quiet. Monokuma took this as an agreement.

“Okay, good. As you know, I am the headmaster of this academy!” He continued. “And all of you are the new class of Ultimate Students! Welcome to your first semester at Starlight Academy!”

Monokuma started laughing.

Well, if “upupu” could be called a laugh.

“So this IS just the opening ceremony?” Amai let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness for that!”

“Didn’t you hear what I said earlier?” Jasper said. “This isn’t just some opening ceremony.”

Monokuma stopped laughing and put his hands on his hips. “Hey, way to kill my fun, edgy!”

Jasper narrowed his eyes. “…‘Edgy’?”

“THAT’S what you focus on!?” Kokoro argued.

“Okay, okay!” Rantaro said, in an attempt to calm the two down before turning his attention to Monokuma. “Look, Jasper kinda has a point here. If this was the opening ceremony, you wouldn’t have kidnapped us and erased our memory of getting here, would you?”

“Eeeeh?” Monokuma tilted his head. “Who said I was responsible for that?”

“If you are who you say you are, you’re the only member of staff we’ve seen since we got here.” He folded his arms accusingly. “So what gives?”

Monokuma still gave him that odd, confused look.

Then he started laughing again.

“Upupupupu~! You’re good!” He chuckled. “You’re already a lot better than the other classes I’ve seen-” He suddenly stopped as if making a mistake. “Whoops, did I say that out loud? Oh, well~! Upupupu-”

“Stop laughing and _**explain!**_”

Rantaro finally snapped, a lot more forceful and aggressive than he was intending, causing about a quarter of the people in the room to take a step back.

Monokuma’s smile, however, grew somehow wider. “You’re gonna be fun, Amami.”

Rantaro froze.

“...What did you just say?”

“I said that you’re gonna be fun, _Rantaro Amami._”

“How did you-”

“Know your name? Well a headmaster’s gotta know all his students, yannow? Besides, you’re all Ultimate Students, you’re all big deals!” He pointed at Rantaro. “Like you,” his finger moved to Kokoro. “And you,” then to Saiko. “And you,” then Haruto. “And you, aaaand...”

His finger stopped at Jasper.

“...I’ll…...Get to you in a second. Anyway! All of you are super-talented Ultimate Students, and the point of this academy is to put your talent and knowledge to the test! However for this semester, I want you to apply your knowledge in a _different _way!”

He clapped his hands together.

“I want all of you super-talented Ultimate Students to participate in a _**killing game!**_”

The room suddenly fell silent, to the point where you could hear a pin drop. It almost felt like Rantaro’s heart had stopped completely with the suddenness of it.

_...W...What…?_

Kokoro had a similar reaction; her breath had hitched and she put her hands over her mouth.

“...K...Killing game…?” She said shakily.

Monokuma replied completely nonchalantly. “...God, it’s like I’m talking to a room full of goldfish...Yeah! I want you all to play a killing game!”

“A-AAAH-!” It was at this point that Kaoru finally broke under the pressure; crashing to the ground and breaking down into tears.

Almost like an instant reflex, Rantaro spun around and got down to reassure him. (part of him wondered how someone with such a nervous disposition could work as a paediatrician)

“Nonono it’s fine, calm down-!”

Monokuma had evidently also gotten Sachiko on her last nerve.

“Okay, THAT’S FUCKING IT!”

She grabbed the hilt of her katana and got ready to pull it out, but Miko darted over and restrained her before she could do anything.

This only seemed to piss her off more.

“LET GO OF ME, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!!” She screamed, desperately kicking at the taller boy’s legs to get him to let go.

However, her kicks didn’t seem to be doing anything as Miko still kept her in a firm hold. “C-calm down, please-!”

Jasper, however, responded to all of this with a nonchalant “...Uh?”

Monokuma shook his head. “Jeez, talk about a rough first day...One kid’s having a panic attack and another is trying to kill me!”

“Of course she’s trying to kill you!” Saiko argued. “What do you mean, you want us to play a killing game!?”

“Yeah!” Rikona agreed. “There’s no way in hell I’m participating in your sick fantasy, peasant!”

“Hey, you don’t call your headmaster a peasant!” Monokuma snapped. “That’s just rude.”

“Yeah, none of us care!” Tsumugi snapped back.

“We don’t care what this killing game is. None of us are playing.” Ahmya said coldly.

“Oh?” Monokuma said with a smile. “Well, what if playing was your only way out?”

Everything went silent again. It even seemed that Sachiko had stopped struggling to get out of Miko’s hold for a few seconds.

Haruto finally spoke up. “...Come again?”

“Think about it.” Monokuma said. “Did any of you see any exit doors when you were looking around?”

Everything stopped.

Rantaro tried to desperately scan his memory.

_There was the nurse’s office Kokoro and I were in, the stage room, those red and purple doors, the dining hall, that rec room, the dorm rooms, the library-_

He hadn’t seen everything on the second floor, but…

_...No...It can’t be..._

He stood up turned back around to face Monokuma.

“...You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

Monokuma just laughed again.

“Oh, do I? Do I, really~?”

“There’s...No way out of here?” Kokoro stammered.

“Hold up, there’s no way that’s the case!” Amai retorted. “If there’s no way out, then how did we get in!?”

“Upupu, why should I tell you that?” Monokuma taunted.

“So what you’re saying is...” Jasper said. “You’ve trapped us in here?”

“Dingding! You hit the nail right on the head! Yaaaaaycuetheconfetti…!”

Jasper nodded towards Rantaro and Kokoro. “I told you someone kidnapped us.”

Rantaro uneasily nodded in reluctant agreement.

“Butbutbut!” Monokuma went on. “Before I explain the rules, I should give you THESE!” He whipped out what looked like 14 electronic tablets and threw them in the air in front of him. “Whachaaaa~!”

The tablets seemed to miraculously land either in each person’s hands or in front of them.

Rantaro’s landed in his hand. The tablet was about the size of a moblie phone and fit comfortably in his hand, and had the word “Monopad-Mini” on the screen.

“‘Monopad-Mini’?” Kokoro read aloud, evidently having gotten hers too.

“Yupyup!” Monokuma nodded. “These will act as your student handbooks! With both your personal information and general info on the killing game stored inside!”

“Uh,” Yuuma said, pointing at the screen. “What’s the ‘mini’ for?”

Saiko eyed him skeptically. “Why’s THAT the part you’re focusing on?”

“Eeeh, we originally had regular Monopads, but those things were way too big to be used practically for things like scanners and stuff.” Monokuma answered with a shrug. “So we downsized ‘em. The bigger ones could be used at a later point I suppose.”

Jasper, who had evidently been scrolling through the features of his Monopad-Mini, gasped a little and took a step back.

“...How the hell did he…!?” He muttered under his breath. He then shook his head and stuffed the tablet into one of his pockets. “Never mind...”

“I gave you these because a lot of what I’m about to say is written as a rule in there so none of you forget. So allow me to explain the rules of this amazing killing game!”

As Monokuma kept talking, Rantaro was only half-listening, as he was reading through the rules on his Monopad-Mini himself.

“There are tons of stuff to kill your classmates with here!”

_Rule 1._ _Students are required to cohabitate at the Ultimate Academy for the remainder of the unforeseeable future._

“...So if someone actually kills someone...”

_Rule 2. _ _When a murder is committed in the academy, a class trial will be conducted. Participation in this trial is mandatory for all surviving students._

“...Investigate, to find out who...”

_Rule 3. If the killer, now referred to as the blackened, is discovered for their crime, they will be punished. Alternately, if the blackened isn’t identified, they graduate from the Ultimate Academy and everyone else will be punished._

“...Class trial, where the spotless and the blackened are pitted against each other...”

_Rule 4. If nobody graduates, the killing game will continue until there are only two people left._

“...Pick the right person, but if you pick the wrong...”

_Rule 5. Monokuma cannot directly participate in a murder._

“...Everyone besides the blackened, and they will graduate!”

_Rule 6. Violence against headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited._

_Rule 7. More rules can be added by the headmaster at any time._

There was text at the bottom of the list that read:

_Any student who breaks these rules will face a penalty._

“So the basic concept is...” Ayano said. “If someone gets away with murder, you let them out?”

“But everyone else faces some form of ‘punishment’.” Yuuma added with a grimace. “That’s just sick...”

“I agree...” Miko was also looking through his own Monopad-Mini. He appeared to be confused by both the concept of the killing game, as well as with the device itself.

It was at this point that he realised that he had let go of Sachiko.

He quickly spun around. “Hey, WAIT A SECOND-!”

But it was too late. Sachiko was already making a beeline for Monokuma and had already made short work of getting onto the stage.

“Wait, it says on the rules that-!” Kokoro tried to say.

Before she could finish that sentence, Sachiko had already sliced Monokuma in half.

The room was filled with another uneasy silence.

Sachiko smirked triumphantly, whipping her katana back into the bag on her back.

“Try making us play now.”

Jasper, however, was eyeing her with what looked like...Concern.

...Or...Anticipation?

“...You shouldn’t have done that.”

Sachiko glared at him. “What? The bastard had it coming.”

Rantaro couldn’t help but partially agree with her. Well, Monokuma was dead, right?

“No, you...REALLY shouldn’t have done that.” Jasper said again.

Sachiko’s look changed to one of confusion. “...What the fuck are you-”

Everyone else realised too late what Jasper was trying to say as a shadow rose up behind her with a familiar jagged red eye, and with his claw primed to strike.

“N- BEHIND YOU-!”

The was all Jasper was able to get out before Monokuma brought his claw down on Sachiko’s arm.

She cried out as she was sent flying from the stage and crashing back to the ground in front of everyone, with three deep gashes on her upper right arm.

Kaoru leapt up in alarm and darted over to her.

“A-aah! S-Sachiko, are you okay!?”

This new Monokuma paid neither of them any attention, and only laughed in response.

“Wait, what the hell!? She just sliced you in half!” Saiko argued.

“Ohh, about that! The guys who made me made a bunch of copies if I ever got destroyed.” He burst out laughing. “You idiots really think you can kill ME!?”

Sachiko, despite being badly injured, managed to muster up the remainder of her strength to give Monokuma the middle finger.

“...FUCK. YOU.”

“Well that’s just rude.” Monokuma pouted, before laughing again. “KIDDING! I don’t care!”

Rantaro couldn’t believe what was happening.

They were all trapped here.

_We’re all gonna die here._

“Welp,” Monokuma said with a shrug. “That’s all I need to say, so I’d better love you and leave you. Buh-bye!”

“Wh- hey!” Rantaro snapped. “Don’t you DARE-!”

But Monokuma was already gone.

He had already disappeared to who knows where, leaving the room in an uneasy silence yet again.

It didn’t take long for Rantaro to remember what had just happened and he found himself darting over to Kaoru and Sachiko, leading the others to follow suit.

“Are you okay?” Rantaro asked.

“I’m fine! Fuck off-!” Sachiko tried to push herself back up, but used her injured arm by mistake, evidently hurting it more.

“You can’t put any more pressure on the injury!” Kaoru said worriedly. “It’ll only get worse! Just let me-”

“I don’t need your fucking help-!”

“_Of course you need help!_”

The sudden drive in Kaoru’s voice caused everyone around him to take a step back.

Kaoru noticed and turned back around.

“...Was it...Something I said?”

“Gr...” Sachiko growled annoyedly, getting ready to try and get up again. “Just fuck off and let me-”

Kaoru spun back around and grabbed her.

“Wh- hey! What the fuck do you think you’re-!?”

“NO! You CAN’T use that arm! The injury will only get worse!”

Everyone took another step back.

Kaoru didn’t turn around this time, likely worried that Sachiko would escape his grip. “...Seriously, what is it?”

Nobody said anything, but it was obvious that they were surprised that the boy who was talking to them right now was the same person who was having a panic attack at the mere mention of murder earlier.

Kaoru sighed, pulling Sachiko’s arm across his shoulder and getting up. “Like it or not, I’m helping you.”

“Well fuck you...” Sachiko growled under her breath as he lifted her up.

Kaoru turned towards the others. “Is there anywhere that I can help her?”

Rantaro remembered. “Oh, there’s a nurse’s office nearby here. That’s where Kokoro and I woke up earlier.”

Kaoru nodded. “Good. Lead me there.”

“...Wait, now-?”

“Yes, now! She’s losing blood, we need to go!”

“W-whoa, okay!” Rantaro took another step back, still surprised by Kaoru’s sudden burst of confidence.

Sachiko’s free hand shakily clenched into a fist. “For the last fucking time, I don’t need your-”

“Look, none of us want you to bleed out, so just go with him on this, okay?”

She rolled her eyes. “...Whatever...”

Rantaro nodded. “Good-”

Kaoru was losing his patience.

“RANTARO! NURSE’S OFFICE! _**NOW!**_”

“GAH OKAY-!”

The three of them – well, two and one very unwillingly – ran out of the stage room, leaving everyone else to let the confusion soak in.

Miko took a deep breath and sighed. “I shouldn’t have let go of her...I’m sorry...”

Kokoro shook her head. “No, it wasn’t your fault.” She glared over at the podium where Monokuma was. “...It was that BEAR’S fault…!”

“Tch...” Saiko folded his arms. “I have no idea what that thing’s thinking. Does he really think we’ll willingly participate in a-”

“Killing game...” Jasper, who had separated himself from the group, finished his sentence for him.

Everyone turned around to face him.

While everyone else was evidently confused, Jasper looked...Thoughtful. He had his hand to his chin, and the light was hitting his glasses so that you couldn’t see his eyes.

“A killing game, huh?” He mused, evidently not to anyone in particular.

“Uhh...” Kokoro started. “Jasper? Are you okay? You’re kinda being-”

Then he started…

Laughing?

Kokoro’s eyes widened.

Jasper laughed to himself as a smile slowly spread across his face.

And...It must have been a trick of the light, but…

It looked like his eyes were glowing.

“...This is gonna be interesting.”

**Prologue: Something Borrowed, Something New – completed!**

Students remaining: 14

Rantaro Amami – Ultimate Adventurer

Kokoro Hikari – Ultimate Lucky Student

Jasper Shion – Ultimate ???

Saiko Aishi – Ultimate Historian

Amai Akuma – Ultimate Digital Artist

Rikona Fumiko – Ultimate Chess Player

Kaoru Odayaka – Ultimate Paediatrician

Haruto Sora – Ultimate Broadway Actor

Sachiko Akahana – Ultimate Delinquent

Ayano Sunako – Ultimate Physicist

Miko Tsunade – Ultimate Bladesmith

Ahmya Aika – Ultimate Archer

Yuuma Todoroki – Ultimate Jeweller

Tsumugi Shirogane – Ultimate Confectioner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dootdodedooo, the prologue is done~!  
The next update I'll post is gonna be character bios (because why the heck not), so they won't take too long. Hopefully.  
Either way I hope all of you enjoyed the prologue!  
And thank you so much for reading! It really means a lot!  
So, who do you guys think is gonna die first~? Please leave your theories (and on other stuff like the first killer or Jasper's talent, Idk I'm curious) and comments below!


	4. Character bios

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some quick character bios for the 14 Ultimates participating in this killing game!  
Because a) I felt like it  
b) To get a better grasp of the characters I guess? Y'know before I start killing them  
And c) to hopefully tide you guys over until chapter 1 starts, since going by my general writing schedule it's gonna take a while

Rantaro Amami: Ultimate Adventurer (protagonist)  
Befitting his title, Rantaro is an experienced traveller, having visited several countries and knows how to sail a boat. He thoroughly learns about whatever country he is currently visiting, including the language, the culture, the local tourist attractions as well as any dangers he may face there. However, there seems to be an underlying reason for his frequent country-hopping. Sure, he wants to see the sights and he is from a rich family, but with his dedication towards his 12 younger sisters and the implication of a fraught relationship with his father, is there another reason behind this?

Kokoro Hikari: Ultimate Lucky Student  
Kokoro is an upbeat and optimistic girl who just wants to help everyone. Her boundless optimism makes sense, as she is also a stage idol! Her optimism and positivity makes her the glue that hold the group together. However, she despises her talent, as she only got into Starlight Academy through an annual lotto rather than through any of her skill. But despite this, she won’t let that get her down. Because as long as her friends are happy, she’s happy.

Jasper Shion: Ultimate ???  
Just who IS Jasper? Not that anyone knows. Despite insisting he has an Ultimate Talent, he refuses to reveal it to anyone. Nobody knows why. And before you jump to conclusions, he hasn’t forgotten it. He just doesn’t want to say it. He comes across as cool, suave and a generally polite person, but he has an unshakable mysterious and even unsettling aura about him. Just what does he have to hide…?

Saiko Aishi: Ultimate Historian  
When you hear the word “historian”, you usually think of tired old professors reading off manuscripts in Latin. Saiko, however, is the complete opposite; a young, suave and even flirty young man decked out in an outfit that just screams “I have money”. Despite this, he is still a genius regarding the subject of history. While he may seem a bit up himself and can be a bit salty, it does seem that he means well in helping investigate the academy.

Haruto Sora: Ultimate Broadway Actor  
Haruto admired the shining stars of Broadway shows for a long time and vowed to be up there on stage one day. It took a lot of work, a number of years at theatre school and dozens of single-line and chorus roles, but he finally got the stardom he wanted and became a big name on stage, starring in a number of critically acclaimed musicals, and becoming well-known for his dancing, acting and instantly recognisable singing voice. Haruto is cool, charismatic and a flirtatious ladies man, but despite having a lot of fans crushing on him, he doesn’t have a big ego like you’d expect and is a genuine and kind person who cares for his friends. However, from time to time he can come across as a bit of a dorky “theatre kid”, but is generally a great person to be friends with.

Sachiko Akahana: Ultimate Delinquent  
While the method of attaining her talent is a mystery, you can’t deny that Sachiko is dangerous. Despite her slim physique, she is a lot stronger than she looks and will not hesitate to attack you if you so much as look at her the wrong way. Standoffish and distrustful, her antisocial and aggressive nature is befitting of her talent. Maybe she might go easy on you if you get to know her…? Probably, probably not, but keep your distance for now.

Ahmya Aika: Ultimate Archer  
Ahmya is an excellent archer despite her age. However her skill got her targeted by a rival competitor, who hired someone to shoot her eye out during a competition. She still won the competition despite her injury, which earned her her Ultimate title. Ahmya is cold and bitter, to the point where she seems emotionally detached. However, this is mainly because she feels satisfied with her own company. She might be less cold to you if she considers you a close enough friend.

Amai Akuma: Ultimate Digital Artist  
It didn’t take long for the sweet and bubbly Amai to cultivate a growing social status online. Being an expert in digital art, she is able to create masterful drawings with a few flicks of her stylus and gets asked for commissions almost all the time as a result. Even though she can be a bit of a ditz sometimes, she is a positive and happy person who is always ready to make new friends.

Kaoru Odayaka: Ultimate Paediatrician  
Kaoru was bullied a lot for his weak-willed nature, which lead to him spending most of his time helping at the hospital where his parents worked. By chance one day, he found himself helping a young girl with a checkup in the paediatric ward. Due to his naturally gentle and kind demeanour, Kaoru found that he was talented in helping children and his parents were impressed with this, so he worked exclusively in the paediatric ward as a result. Kaoru is very kind and polite, but he’s also shy, fragile and has low self-esteem. However, this does a complete 180 when he’s doing medical work, where he becomes more serious and confident. He also has useful medical knowledge thanks to helping at the hospital for a long time.

Rikona Fumiko: Ultimate Chess Player  
A young girl who yearns for a life of riches, who found her calling after easily beating someone in chess on her first match. Rikona soon became a master at the strategic game, and has many a competition win under her belt. However, her desire for fortune and number of consecutive wins has made her a bit of a snob, and she sees everyone else as mere “peasants”. But though she may seem annoying, you should not get on her bad side.

Yuuma Todoroki: Ultimate Jeweller  
Despite looking like he just finished third grade, Yuuma actually owns a jewellery company; which he had to take over from his father when he suddenly fell sick. While he can act like an excitable child, Yuuma is a lot more thoughtful and cunning than you might believe. However, he can also act snarky and even a little sassy. (especially if you mistake him for a little kid.)

Ayano Sunako: Ultimate Physicist  
Ayano is considered by a lot of people to be a genius. She excelled at the renownedly difficult subject of physics, and is even rumoured to have studied at a university level halfway through high school.Ayano is well-meaning and very intelligent, but can be blunt and pessimistic, and tends to overrule emotion with logic in her reasoning. Most notably, as her level of skill has taken a lot of work, it has very evidently wrecked her sleep schedule, as Ayano is seemingly always tired and drowsy, leading some to question if she ever sleeps at all. Despite this, her knowledge will be useful in the game against Monokuma.

Miko Tsunade: Ultimate Bladesmith  
Not much is known about Miko, as he doesn’t really talk about his upbringing and always deflects the subject whenever his parents are brought up, but it’s apparent that he excelled at the art of forging blades since a young age. Despite his talent suggesting otherwise, Miko hates unnecessary violence and considers himself a pacifist, but this doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to defend himself. Despite coming across as sheltered and rather naive, Miko is sensible and polite, with some comparing his personality to the grace and honour of a samurai. But even though he comes off as intimidating and serious (which he can be), that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to have fun.

Tsumugi Shirogane: Ultimate Confectioner  
Do you expect a confectioner to be a sweet-as-sugar candy maker who loves making delicious treats for friends? Well not Tsumugi. She’s sour and abrasive, practically the opposite of the implication of her talent. Tsumugi doesn’t usually talk about her talent either. She mainly uses that time for insulting and cutting down the other participants of the killing game. **Especially** towards a certain adventurer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So these are all the Ultimate Students in Despair From the Heart!  
Hopefully the start of chapter 1 won't be too far away!


	5. The Killing Game Busters!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After dealing with the direct fallout of Monokuma announcing the killing game, the group gets an unexpected set of gifts from the bear himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess me finishing the last chapter of DanganRWBY gave me such a drive that it inspired me to get this finished earlier too. That's good!  
Hope you guys enjoy!

It didn’t take long for Rantaro and Kaoru to get to the nurse’s office. Kaoru lay Sachiko, who was still grumbling about not needing any help, onto one of the empty beds and started searching through the cupboards.

“I’ve already told you...” She growled, still evidently in pain from her injury. “I don’t need your help.”

Kaoru had obviously taken to ignoring her, as he simply continued searching through the cupboards.

“Where are they, where are they…? There!” He eventually pulled out a roll of bandages and passed them to Rantaro. “Do you mind holding onto these for a bit?”

Rantaro nodded and took them. “Sure.”

Kaoru turned back around and continued going through the open cupboard, and immediately went to a different one when he didn’t find what he was looking for.

Rantaro was still a little taken aback by Kaoru’s sudden burst in confidence.

_Where the hell did this sudden drive come from? Is it...Because he’s doing medical work or something? It makes sense since he’s the Ultimate Paediatrician, but..._

Kaoru eventually found what he was looking for; a set of cotton pads and a bottle of antiseptic.

“This is just for cleaning the wound out so it doesn’t get infected,” he explained as he dabbed a little of the antiseptic onto a cotton pad and walked over to Sachiko. “I’ll need to move your sleeve out of the way so I can-”

Sachiko shoved his hand out of the way with her uninjured hand. “Don’t fucking touch me.”

“I’m trying to help you! Just let me do this! Please?”

“Grr...” She eventually relented, pulling her sleeve back herself. “Fine...”

The injury didn’t look too severe, but it did look painful. Monokuma’s claws had scored three bloody gashes just below her shoulder, and even her hand lightly brushing against it as she pulled her sleeve back caused her to wince a little.

Kaoru shivered a little – his nervousness apparently coming back for a split second due to all the blood – but regained his footing.

“I’m sorry, but there’s no way I can sugarcoat this...The antiseptic is gonna sting. A lot.” He offered his free hand to her. “You can squeeze my hand if it-”

“I’m not holding your fucking hand.”

Kaoru retracted his hand and gently pressed the cotton pad on the wound, causing her to flinch a little at the touch. He dabbed the pad on it a few more times, before holding his free hand out to Rantaro.

Rantaro didn’t twig at first what he meant.

Kaoru gave him a deadpan look. “...The bandages.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

He handed him the roll of bandages. Kaoru unrolled some of them and gently but tightly wrapped them around Sachiko’s injury.

“There.” He said, taking a step back.

“Cool.” Sachiko replied, pulling her albeit torn sleeve back over her arm. “Can I go now?”

“Well, it might be a good idea to rest for a bit-”

“Whatever.” She was already getting up and walking over to the door. “I’m gonna try and find my dorm.”

“Wh- not even a thank you?” Rantaro asked, surprised at the girl’s lack of manners.

“UGH...Fine. Thank you.”

Kaoru pressed his forefingers against each other. “...No problem, I guess...I’m just glad I was able to help...”

“Tch...” Sachiko tutted as she walked out the door. “I don’t need your sympathy.”

Rantaro and Kaoru stood in an awkward silence for a while, before Kaoru sighed and started putting everything back in the cupboards.

“She could’ve been a BIT more polite.” Rantaro said, shaking his head.

“Mhm...I guess...” Kaoru murmured, his nervous disposition apparently returning.

Even though Rantaro knew this was an awkward question, he felt this was the right time to ask about it.

“Hey.”

“Huh?”

“This is probably a really weird question, but...You seemed to get a sudden drive earlier as soon as you started to help Sachiko. What’s up with that?”

“Oh...W-well, uh...” He fiddled with one of his bracelets nervously. “It’s really dumb, but...I’m only ever able to be confident when doing medical work...I have no idea why...Hahaha...” He laughed to himself. “It’s stupid, isn’t it…?”

Rantaro shook his head. “No it isn’t.”

“It really is...” He continued. “I guess I only really felt safe in the hospital so I-”

“Wait, what?”

Kaoru stopped, as if realising that he had said too much.

“A-aah! Sorry, please forget you heard that!”

“No, no, hold on! Did something happen to you, or-”

“N-no, just please forget I said anything…!”

Rantaro relented and sighed. “...Alright. I won’t press.”

“T-thank you...” Kaoru glanced off to the side and muttered “...Why do I keep running my mouth like this…!?”

“...What was-?”

Kaoru jolted, as if only just realising that Rantaro heard him.

“Gah-! N-nothing…!...Uh...” He decided to change the subject. “Do you think there’s anyone outside?”

Rantaro shrugged. “There could be. Everyone saw what happened with Sachiko, and...You made it _very_ evident that you wanted me to take her to the nurse’s office...”

Kaoru’s eyes widened. “...Oh god, I wasn’t _that_ aggressive, was I? I’m so sorry…!”

“Hey, it’s fine! There’s no need to keep apologising!”

Kaoru balled his fists nervously and looked away.

Rantaro decided to go to the previous topic. “Do you want to see if there’s anyone outside?”

“Huh…?”

“You just said that there could be people outside waiting for us,” He continued. “Do you want to see if there’s anyone?”

Kaoru hesitated for a bit and then nodded. “...O-okay...”

“Good. Let’s go.”

The two of them walked out of the door, to find that Kokoro, Saiko and Jasper were waiting outside.

Kokoro’s face lit up as soon as she saw Rantaro. “Oh good, you’re back!”

Jasper rolled his eyes. “Don’t be silly, you knew both of them were fine.” He turned his attention to Rantaro and Kaoru. “How was she?”

“I managed to bandage her injury...” Kaoru explained. “But she left before I could say anything else...”

“Did you guys not see her on your way here?” Rantaro asked.

“If by ‘see her’, you mean she completely ignored us and flipped Kokoro off as soon as she asked ‘are you okay’,” Saiko answered with a slight grimace. “Then yeah. We saw her.”

Rantaro sighed. “...Well, that was just plain rude...”

“Do you reckon that’s how she got her talent? By being a stone-cold bitch to everyone she meets?”

“Y-you can’t just say that!” Kaoru argued.

“Whoa, calm down. I’m kidding.”

Kaoru folded his arms. “It wasn’t funny.”

“Well I at least got her to say ‘thank you’.” Rantaro said with a shrug.

“That’s a plus.” Saiko added.

“Well...” Kaoru said, eager to move on from Sachiko. “Did either of us miss anything?”

Jasper shrugged. “Not much. Everyone’s just kinda meeting in the dining hall though.”

“I guess they want to talk about what the hell we’re gonna do next.” Saiko added.

“Makes sense.” Rantaro turned over to Kaoru. “Should I go get Sachiko, or-?”

Kaoru shook his head. “I don’t think so...It might be a good idea to let her rest for a while. She obviously needs it...”

“Not to mention she’ll probably bite your hand off if you get too close.” Jasper added.

“Yeah, probably...” Rantaro agreed.

“So should we just head over?” Kokoro asked.

“Looks like it...” Kaoru replied. “You said the dining hall, right?”

“Yup.” Jasper said. “Shall we?”

“Oh good, you guys are finally here.” Yuuma remarked, as Rantaro, Kaoru, Kokoro, Saiko and Jasper walked into the dining hall. Two of the tables had been put together to accommodate for the size of the group, and everyone with the exception of Sachiko was sitting in chairs around them, though six had been left empty for the newcomers.

“Sachiko not joining us?” Rikona asked with a raised eyebrow.

“She said she needed some rest...” Kaoru replied as he timidly took his seat.

“That’s a good idea,” Ayano seconded, already half asleep with her head resting on the table. “She must’ve lost a lot of blood when Monokuma attacked her.”

“And that brings us to the first thing we need to talk about,” Rantaro said. “That ‘Monokuma’ thing.”

“What gives a peasant like you the right to take charge of this debate?” Rikona growled. “You weren’t even here when we decided to meet.”

“Please don’t argue…!” Miko pleaded, before turning over to Rantaro. “He has a point, it is something we need to discuss.”

“So to recap,” Rantaro continued. “We’ve been trapped in a killing game where we need to murder someone to escape.”

“Not to mention he said something about a class trial,” Jasper added. “They have to be able to get away with it without the rest of us finding out.”

Amai leaned back in her chair and rested her hands behind her head. “He’s ‘prolly bluffing.”

“Uh, I think the stunt he pulled with Sachiko earlier shows he’s very clearly _NOT_ bluffing!” Yuuma argued.

“Either way, the best thing to do for now is to prevent any murders from occurring.” Ahmya explained.

“Well that’ll be pretty easy,” Haruto replied. “Because if Monokuma thinks we’re gonna kill each other, then he’s got another thing coming!”

“Besides,” Kokoro said hopefully. “Ultimate students like you guys are big deals, right? He said it himself! So people are bound to notice that we’re missing.”

“So what, you’re suggesting we wait it out until help arrives?” Rikona asked.

Ayano yawned a little and adjusted her position before replying. “Sounds like that’s taking Monokuma’s rule lying down if you ask me...”

“I-It’s not!” Kokoro argued, jumping from her chair.

“I’m sorry Kokoro,” Rantaro said. “But we can’t just wait around for help to arrive, if it even arrives at all.”

Kokoro pouted and sat back down. “So then what are we supposed to do?”

“Your friend has a point,” Kaoru said shakily. “Monokuma was right about there not being an exit door, so what ARE we supposed to do?”

“Not to mention, going by what happened earlier with Sachiko earlier, attacking Monokuma directly is also a bad idea.” Saiko agreed.

“Nothing I guess.”

Everyone stopped when Tsumugi spoke up. She had evidently made a point of not joining the others at the table, and was just walking over.

“Escape’s hopeless, attacking him’s hopeless, help’s probably never gonna come,” She continued, counting each reason on her hand. “So we can’t exactly do anything, can we?”

“It’s not hopeless!” Kokoro argued, jumping out of her chair again.

“What, are you an idiot or something?” Tsumugi snapped.

“Guys, please! We can’t have people arguing!” Miko pleaded, but Tsumugi completely ignored him.

“The way it looks to me, the only way we can get out of this shithole is actually playing along.”

“We are NOT playing along!” Kokoro countered, obviously getting more heated.

“Oh, really?” Tsumugi replied with a smug grin. “What’s to stop someone when they get desperate?”

“N-nobody’s gonna get desperate!”

“You sure about that?”

Rantaro clenched his fist, fighting the growing urge to punch that smile off of her smug little face.

Instead he decided to try and resolve the argument calmly.

“Look, nobody is going to die.”

Tsumugi shot him a glare. “Oh god, not you too.”

“Monokuma can’t make us kill each other. And I don’t know If you know this, but we don’t actually want to kill each other.” He continued. “Nobody. Is going. To die.”

“You really think that?” She asked with a bitter laugh. “You’re just as much of a dumbass as she is!”

Rantaro was finding it increasingly harder to resolve the argument calmly and just wanted to slap her.

Mainly since despite what he just said, he wasn’t exactly hopeful of their chances of escape either.

And Tsumugi definitely wasn’t helping.

“Aw, how cute!” She said, putting on a mocking, sickly sweet voice. “The heroic adventurer is gonna save us all~!” Her face abruptly fell. “Ick. I’m sorry, but you must be braindead if you think all of us are gonna get out of here alive.”

“Why don’t you shove that little apology _right up your __**a**_-”

Rantaro was cut off by someone suddenly grabbing his wrist.

He turned around, expecting it to be Miko, but was surprised to see Kaoru instead.

“Rantaro...” He said in a nervous voice. “...Please…!”

Rantaro stopped. From the desperate look in Kaoru’s eyes, he knew he needed to calm down before this escalated.

He took a deep breath and eased his hand out of Kaoru’s grip. “Okay...” He shot a quick glare at Tsumugi. “But we’re not done.”

Tsumugi stuck her tongue out mockingly before going back to where she was originally standing.

Rantaro rolled his eyes, eager to move on. “...Okay. We need to find some way around this without having anyone killed, right?”

“Right, but how do we do that?” Kokoro asked.

“We’ll need to find some way around Monokuma for a start.” Jasper suggested.

“Yeah, but how?” Amai asked. “We know we can’t kill him. And he has those razor sharp claws.”

“Or we could find an alternate route of escape, if there is one.” Kokoro said.

“Yeah, could be somewhere Monokuma left open.” Ayano agreed.

“I don’t know, I don’t think he’s that dumb.” Yuuma replied. “If Monokuma did leave a back door somewhere, we would’ve found it by now-”

“And the killing game would’ve been oh-so-boring~!” The bear himself said, suddenly appearing before them.

Quite a few of the group jumped back in surprise.

Yuuma groaned. “This is a Beetlejuice situation, isn’t it?”

“Uh...What’s a ‘Beetlejuice’?” Miko asked.

“What, are none of you happy to see your headmaster?” Monokuma pouted.

“No.” Rantaro said bluntly. “Nobody’s happy to see you.”

“Yeah, what do you want?” Jasper added.

“Aww...” Monokuma looked down in fake sadness. “Just when I was gonna give you something important...”

“Wait, hold up!” Kokoro stopped him. “You were gonna give us something?”

Monokuma shot back up to normal. “Yupyupyup! Three things that are gonna come in handy, in fact!” He pulled out three items out of nowhere and tossed them in the air. “Tadaaa~!”

The three items seemed to land perfectly on the table – well, tables – they were sitting at.

One of them was a small violet key with a purple plastic tag attached, another was an older looking bronze key that looked like it came out of a fantasy movie with an hourglass emblem at the top, and the last item was a large silver chess pawn.

Rikona grabbed the chess pawn immediately.

“Oooohhh...” She inspected it, turning it around in her hand. “I’ve never seen one with THIS design before…!”

As she was doing this, Saiko turned over to Monokuma.

“Yeah. Uh. You’ve given us two keys and a chess piece. Why?”

“Oh no, you’ve got that wrong! I’ve given you _three_ keys!” Monokuma corrected.

“...No...I’m pretty sure that last one is a chess piece. A massive one. But still not a key.”

“Nope. All three of ‘em are keys. It’s just one isn’t in the way that you’d imagine.”

Jasper seemed to realise what Monokuma was getting at.

“Ooooohhhhh...” He turned over to Saiko. “Yeah, Saiko. The chess piece is also a key.”

“What? How?”

Jasper turned to Rantaro this time. “Hey Rantaro, remember that door that Kokoro found when we met Tsumugi?”

“Yeah,” Rantaro recalled. “It was red, and it had a design of a chess king on it, and it had a circle with an indent that looked like a large chess pa- Oh. That’s it.”

“Dingdingding! You got that right!” Monokuma chimed.

“So...What exactly IS that door?” Rantaro asked. “There was another one on this floor too.”

“And one on the second floor.” Jasper added.

“Yeah, and one on the- wait.”

“Yup. There was another weird door on the second floor. Looked like it came straight out of one of those fantasy schools in books or something.” Jasper pointed at the older looking key. “Had that design that’s on the key engraved on it too. That announcement just went off before I could show you it though.”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow skeptically. “...Huh.”

“Either way,” Kokoro steered back to the main topic. “What’s up with the three doors?”

“Well, those are three of your Ultimate Research Labs!” Monokuma answered.

“Ultimate Research Labs?” Rantaro asked.

“Yup! They are different facilities specifically tailored to help you hone and develop your talents! Because why have an Ultimate Academy without a way to improve your Ultimate Talents, eh?”

“Yeah, but why are there three of them?” Haruto asked. “There’s fourteen of us, but there are only three labs.”

“Wrong again! There ARE fourteen labs. They’re just on the other floors!”

“The other floors that are boarded up?” Ayano asked.

“So you gave us the rest of our labs, but won’t let us use them.” Yuuma said skeptically. “Pretty useless if you ask me.”

“No, I WILL let you use them!” Monokuma answered. “Access to the upper floors will be allowed at a later point.”

“And when’s that?” Jasper asked.

“You’ll just have to see~! Upupupu~!”

“Why can’t you just let us use the upper floors now?”

“Jeez, so many questions! Look, you’ll be able to get to your other Ultimate Research Labs once you can access the next floor, but you only have three of them for now. Got that?”

Nobody replied.

“Good! So long, bear well~!” Monokuma said before vanishing again.

Jasper folded his arms and turned over to Rikona. “Okay, I don’t think we have any doubt who’s lab _that _key is for.”

“That just leaves the other two.” Kokoro noted, pointing to the violet and bronze keys.

Kaoru picked up the violet key and had a closer look. “This is similar to some of the keys we have to the medicine cabinets back at the hospital...” He nodded. “I think this one’s mine.”

Saiko picked up the bronze key and inspected it. “Yeah, I have a feeling this one’s mine too.”

Going by both the second door he saw on the first floor – purple and with a decal of two band-aids crossed over each other – and Jasper’s description of the third door, Rantaro couldn’t help but agree with them.

“I have a feeling I know the door this leads to...” Kaoru said, getting up out of his chair. “Is it okay if I go ahead?”

Saiko also got up off of his chair. “Yeah, I’m gonna do the same.”

Jasper shrugged. “Not a problem.”

The two of them nodded and left.

Rantaro got up from his chair. “Yeah, so what are we gonna do ne-”

“Stop right there, peasant!”

Rantaro stopped as soon as Rikona raised her voice.

“Ugh...What?”

“You and your two cohorts found the door to my lab, correct?”

“Uh...” He shrugged. “Yeah?”

“Good.” She got up off of her chair and pointed to him, Jasper and Kokoro. “You three. Lead me there.”

“What!?” Kokoro exclaimed. “Why us!?”

“Because you know where the door is, peasant! Anytime now would be nice.”

“Wait, you don’t know where the door is?” Rantaro asked.

“Okay,” Jasper started. “It’s big, it’s red, and it has a-”

“It’s quicker for you to take me there!” Rikona snapped. She clapped her hands like a rich girl ordering her butler to bring her a drink. “Chop chop.”

Rantaro groaned and put his head in his hand. “Mother of god...”

“So this is the door?”

The four of them had arrived at the red door, presumably to Rikona’s lab, that Rantaro, Kokoro and Jasper had found before meeting everyone.

Rantaro nodded. “Yup. This is the one.”

Rikona tilted her head. “Hmm...” She took a step back and folded her arms. “I expected something a little grander.”

“Of course you did...”

“Am I the only one who’s still confused as to how this chess piece could act as a key?” Kokoro asked, gesturing to the “key” in question in Rikona’s hand.

“Hm...” Jasper adjusted his glasses. “I think I have an idea.” He held his hand out to Rikona. “Give me the key.”

“What!? No!” She snapped, holding the chess piece protectively.

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to go inside your lab or not?”

Rikona growled and handed him the chess piece, which he inserted into the indent on the circle.

Nothing happened.

Rikona folded her arms. “Now what, peasant?”

“Gimmie a sec...”

Jasper turned the circle 90 degrees clockwise, so the chess piece was now in a horizontal position.

This caused the door to click.

“...I think it’s unlocked now.” Kokoro noted. “Do you reckon the chess piece is supposed to act as a handle?”

“Part of it is still sticking out of the door, but it would be a very awkward handle.” Jasper replied.

“So what, should we just...Push it?”

Rikona was getting impatient.

“UGH...” She shoved past both of them and made her way to the door. “Out of my way, peasants! I’LL show you how it’s done!”

She gave the door a shove, and it opened.

The room felt regal in an almost imposing way. The walls were red with a horizontal silver trim across the middle, aside from one wall which had a number of black drawers with silver knobs. The floor was, of course, decorated with black and white tiles, and the room was lit by an ornate crystal chandelier. The centrepiece of the room was a marble table with a chessboard painted onto it. A simple yet comfortable looking chair was in front of it on the side facing the door, while behind the table was an ornate throne with red cushions and a silver trim, with a crown shape at the top, with large statues of a black queen and a white king either side of it like knights of a royal guard.

Rikona practically squealed when the door opened and rushed inside.

Rantaro raised his eyebrows, impressed. “...Wow.”

“How could the academy afford all this stuff!?” Kokoro asked.

“Who knows,” Jasper mused. “But it looks amazing.”

“Oh my goodness, look at all of these designs!” Rikona exclaimed. She was looking through the drawers, prompting the other three to look to see what she was talking about.

The “designs” she was referring to were dozens of different chess sets stored neatly in the drawers. There were basic sets with the basic shapes, more ornate sets with humanoid pieces, some were plastic, some were metal, and the like.

“I’ve never seen half of these designs before!” She continued.

“What, do you collect chess sets or something?” Rantaro asked.

“Of course I do! Some of the cuts can be so pretty…!”

Rantaro nodded. He hadn’t seen a lot of chess sets in his life – the main one he remembers being an expensive set in his father’s office that he had never actually seen anyone play with – but some of the designs he had seen were pleasing to the eye.

“Eeeney, meeney, miney- that one!” Rikona pulled a set out of one of the drawers. It had the simple piece design, but were made out of silver and painted black and white.

She set the pieces – which were inside of a crimson felt casing – down on the table and sized the other three people in the room up.

“Hmmm...YOU!” She pointed at Jasper.

“...Me?”

“Yes, you. Have you ever played before?”

Jasper shrugged. “Yeah, why?”

Rikona nodded. “Good. Play me.”

“Wh- _now?”_

“No, ten years from now. OF COURSE NOW, PEASANT!” She already started taking the pieces out of the casing and setting them up on the board.

Jasper folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. “...I don’t have a choice, do I.”

Rikona sat down at the throne. “Just take your seat. You’re playing white, by the way.”

“Does the colour really matter though?” Kokoro asked.

Rikona looked at her as if she had suddenly started spouting gibberish. “...WHAT!?”

“The colour _does_ matter,” Jasper explained, going over to take his seat at the front chair. “White always makes the first move.

“Oh.” Kokoro replied. “I didn’t know that.”

“It doesn’t look like I’m leaving anytime soon, so you two go on ahead.”

“Huh?”

“You both want to see the other Ultimate Labs, right?” Jasper continued. “I’m pretty sure Kaoru’s found his.”

“Oh yeah, I reckon he has!” She turned over to Rantaro. “You wanna come see?”

“Huh?” Rantaro turned to her.

“Kaoru’s lab! I haven’t been to a paediatrician’s office in years!” She started bouncing up and down. “Is it gonna have toys and stuff? I wanna see! I wanna see!”

“Maybe you should start going again...” Rikona said under her breath.

“Hey,” Rantaro snapped. “That was uncalled for.”

Rikona tutted and turned back over to Jasper. “So…? You still have first move.”

“I know, I know.” Jasper replied. “I’m just thinking.”

Rantaro sighed. “I guess that’s our cue...” He turned back over to Kokoro. “...You wanted to see Kaoru’s lab, right?”

And just like that, her face lit right back up again.

It didn’t take long for Rantaro and Kokoro to find the door to Kaoru’s lab.

It evidently didn’t take Kaoru long to find it either, as the violet key was in the lock.

“Looks like he’s already inside,” Kokoro noted. “Should we come in?”

“Wouldn’t it be kinda rude to just barge in when he’s not expecting anyone? We should at least knock first.”

Kokoro nodded, prompting Rantaro to knock three times on the door.

“Hey Kaoru, you in there?” He asked. “It’s just me and Kokoro, do you mind if we come inside?”

This was followed by a muffled squeal and the sound of skittered footsteps from inside – Rantaro had evidently startled him – before Kaoru said “Y-yeah! Go ahead!”

Kokoro pushed the door to the lab open.

The walls were painted with a cartoonish and pastelly night sky design, complete with stars. There was a faded purple cube bench resembling a waiting area – likely where the parents would sit during their child’s checkup – with a box filled with different books next to it and a brightly coloured wire block toy in front of it. Next to the waiting area was an adjustable height chart with a cute cartoon giraffe on it. When it came to the actual doctor’s office area itself, there was a smaller dark grey cube chair next to a table. An office chair on wheels was also nearby, next to a unit built onto the wall with a cabinet above it. A sink was built into the unit underneath the cabinet, and a teddy bear was sitting comfortably at the end of the unit.

The room was almost exactly like a paediatrician’s office.

So much so that Rantaro internally swore that he had taken one of his sisters to one with nearly this exact design.

Kaoru – with the assistance of a plastic stool – was looking through the cabinets above the unit to see what was inside.

“Oh my god…!” Kokoro squealed. “THIS IS SO CUUUUTE!”

“Huh?” Kaoru turned around and noticed them. “Oh! Yeah, it’s great, isn’t it?”

As Kokoro started scampering around the room excitedly, Rantaro calmly walked over to him.

“What’s in there?” He asked.

“Oh, just similar kind of things as in the nurse’s office.” Kaoru explained. “But they fitted them to my talent. Look,” He pulled out a box of band-aids from the cabinet. “The plasters have cats on them.”

Rantaro opened the small plastic box. Sure enough, it was filled with brightly coloured band-aids with small decals of cats on them.

He handed the box back over. “Aw.”

“I know, right?” Kaoru smiled as he put the box back. “It reminds me of the office I had back at the hospital...”

“Wait,” Kokoro stopped bouncing for five seconds. “Kaoru, you work at a hospital?”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “Where else would a paediatrician work?”

“...Good point.” She promptly resumed looking around excitedly.

He turned back around to Kaoru. “How long have you been working at a hospital for?”

“Well, u-uh...Quite a while.” He explained. “My mom and dad were both doctors so I ended up helping them a lot of the time.” He looked off to the side. “...It was better than being at school, anyway...”

“Oh? How come?”

“Others at school didn’t like me...They said I was weak, a crybaby, a scaredy-cat...Some of them even called me a-”

He choked on his words a little, as if recollecting this alone was causing him to fight to hold back tears.

But Rantaro knew exactly what he meant. As he had been called the same thing himself.

“...I’m sorry about that...” He said.

“There’s no need to be sorry,” Kaoru replied shakily. “It’s my own stupid fault anyway...”

“What? No, it’s not your-” He stopped and sighed, as he didn’t want to have this discussion right now.

Instead he opted to change the subject.

“So how did you end up working as a paediatrician?”

“O-oh! Uh...” Kaoru seemed to regain a bit of his composure. “I was helping at the hospital one day and I noticed a young girl waiting with her father near the desk. The girl didn’t even look like she was 10 yet and looked really nervous...I guess, I...Kinda saw myself in her in a way...”

“Right…?”

“They looked like they had been waiting for a while, so I asked to see what was going on. The girl had come in for her checkup, but I knew that the guy who usually worked that shift in the paediatric ward couldn’t come in due to a family emergency, and they would have to wait at least another hour until someone else came in...Before I knew it, I had offered to do her checkup myself.”

“You did?” Rantaro asked.

“Yeah, I know! It was about halfway through the walk to the office when I realised I had no idea what I was doing...Haha...”

“Well, you evidently _did_ know what you were doing.”

Kaoru shrugged. “I guess...I don’t know how, but as soon as we got there, I managed to do everything right...Her father even said I did it better than the guy who usually does it...He said he’d put a good word in to the superiors since this was my first time doing something like this, and my parents were really happy when they found out...So I at least had something to be proud of!”

“That’s...” Rantaro said. “...Actually pretty cool.”

“It’s really not...Compared to what all the other people have done, like...Travelling the world or something...”

“It really is! You had basically no experience but was still able to do everything right! That’s amazing.”

Kaoru smiled a little. “...Thank you...”

Rantaro smiled back. “No problem.”

It was at this point that he remembered that there was someone else he wanted to see.

He turned over to Kokoro, who was still looking around excitedly.

“Hey,” He asked. “Mind if I go ahead to see Saiko’s lab?”

Kokoro nodded. “Yeah, I can catch up.”

“You need any help getting there?” Kaoru asked.

Rantaro shook his head. “It’s fine, I think I can find my way.” He started to head for the door. “See you around.”

Kaoru nodded with a smile. “See you later.”

Rantaro internally admitted that he should’ve accepted Kaoru’s offer.

Since Jasper apparently didn’t get the opportunity to show them where the door was due to Monokuma’s announcement, it took him a while to find it; albeit after a very long while of searching.

The door to Saiko’s lab was pretty similar to the description Jasper gave earlier. It was made out of a mahogany wood with ornate carvings across it, some of the carvings resembling wrought iron patterns. It looked like the kind of door that would transport you to a fantasy world when you opened it.

Carved in the upper centre of the door was an hourglass design, exactly the same as the design on the key Monokuma gave them earlier; the key in question inside the keyhole under the door’s knob.

_So he did get here before me..._Rantaro thought, before knocking on the door.

“Hello?”

No response.

He knocked again. “Saiko, you in there?”

Still no response.

Rantaro was just about to knock again when someone suddenly put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey.”

“HOLY S-!” Rantaro jumped back and spun around to face them.

Saiko, who had apparently just snuck up behind him, burst out laughing. “Ahahaha! You should’ve seen the look on your face!”

Rantaro could help but laugh a little himself. “Okay, yeah. You got me.” He sighed. “Why did you do that?”

Saiko shrugged. “You were taking a while and I took the opportunity to have some fun.” He folded his arms. “I don’t know about you, but being trapped in a building by a psychotic teddy bear can get pretty boring sometimes.”

“I guess it can be...” Rantaro pointed to the door. “I assume you’ve already been inside.”

“Oh, yeah! You need to see this!”

Saiko walked ahead of him and opened the door.

Saiko’s almost felt like the office of a mansion. The walls were made of a dark wood, and the floor was covered with a burgundy carpet. The room was lit up with electric lights on the wall that were fashioned to look like candles. There was a large mahogany desk at the centre of the room, with three chairs around it. In front of the “main chair” was a stack of papers, a reading light, a feather quill and some ink, and a spinning globe. The right wall had a large painting of what appeared to be a scene in some old war, while the left wall had a number of glass display cases built in filled with different artefacts like stone sculptures, medals and old coins. (one of the shelves was entirely dedicated to coins from different time periods) The wall at the back of the room was covered in bookcases, and an indent had even been built in to fit more in, with an ornate grandfather clock hanging at the top of the indent.

In short, it was...Beautiful in a way.

“...Whoa.” Was all Rantaro could say.

“I know, right?” Saiko replied, taking a seat at the main chair. “It almost feels like I’m back in the library at my dad’s college.”

“Oh yeah,” Rantaro sat down at another chair nearby. “Your father was a college professor, right?”

“Yeah. A history professor, actually. I got interested in his work and studied for a bit, wrote some stuff, some of the other professors found out, and things just kinda went on from there.”

“Huh. Nice.”

“So, what about you?” Saiko asked.

Rantaro stopped. “What?”

“I told you how I got into history,” He continued. “How did you get into adventuring?”

Rantaro froze up a little.

_Shit, shit SHIT…! I should’ve known this was gonna come up at some point…! What the hell am I supposed to say!? If I said **that**, what the hell would HE think!? I’ll just, uh...We went out on a boat a lot. Yeah, I’ll just say that._

“Uh...Rantaro? You in there?”

_Just say we went out on a boat, just say we went out on a boat, JUST SAY WE-_

“There you guys are!”

Rantaro’s train of thought was stopped by Kokoro flinging the door open, with Jasper following behind.

Rantaro took a sigh of relief. _Saved by the bell…_

Saiko smirked. “Heh, we can’t all keep seeing each other like this. People are gonna talk.”

Jasper shrugged. “Let them.”

“Oh right, how’d your game with Rikona go?” Rantaro asked.

“She’s the Ultimate Chess Player, what do you expect?” Jasper raised an eyebrow. “She kicked my ass. Though she did say I’m one of the better people she’s played against, so that’s a bonus.”

“And how many times did she call you a peasant?” Saiko asked.

“According to my count...Thirteen.”

“Ugh...” Kokoro groaned.

“Yeah, she’s **got** to have some kind of superiority complex...” Saiko remarked with an eye roll.

“Preaching with the choir on that one...” Rantaro agreed.

“Okay, Rikona’s superiority complex aside,” Jasper continued. “We need to address the massive elephant in the room. Mainly the fact that we’ve been trapped here by a psychotic teddy bear who wants us to commit murder.”

The entire room went silent.

“...What?” Jasper asked. “Someone had to say it.”

“Yeah, but way to kill the mood.” Saiko said with a raised eyebrow.

“But he does have a point,” Rantaro explained. “We can’t exactly pretend that Monokuma doesn’t exist.”

“So we need to do something about it...” Kokoro said, before suddenly jumping up excitedly. “Oh! We could form a team!”

“...What?” Rantaro, Jasper and Saiko all said simultaneously.

“The four of us can be a team! A team to take down Monokuma!”

“...Again, what?” Jasper asked.

“Actually, that sounds like pretty solid idea.” Saiko said. “Isn’t the saying that there’s strength in numbers?”

“Exactly!” Kokoro nodded excitedly. “We could be the Killing Game Busters!”

“Aaaand she already has a team name...” Jasper muttered.

“Either way,” Rantaro decided to take the helm of this conversation. “Kokoro’s right. It would be a good idea for the four of us to stick together.”

Kokoro’s face lit up.

“Though...Maybe not JUST the four of us.” He continued.

Kokoro’s face fell again. “What?”

“I mean sure,” Rantaro explained. “A group of four of us could work. But there’s at least ten other people in this academy alone. We could get some of them to help us, y’know?”

“That’s a good call,” Saiko gave him a finger-gun sign and winked. “I like your thinking, Rantaro.”

Rantaro couldn’t help but get a little bit flustered at the gesture. “U-uh...Thanks.”

Kokoro didn’t seem to notice this, but Jasper evidently did, as he laughed to himself a little.

This prompted her to turn over to him with a suspicious look. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing...” Jasper casually brushed her off.

Before anyone could say anything else, a familiar chime sounded from outside.

Kokoro immediately hopped out of the door to see what was going on.

“Hey guys, that speaker screen thing is on!”

Rantaro got up from his chair. “What?”

Saiko followed suit. “Please don’t tell me he wants us in the stage room again...”

Even though the three of them hadn’t left the room like Kokoro did, they were still able to hear Monokuma’s voice as it crackled out of the speaker.

“Ahem,” The voice sounded. “This is a school announcement. It is now 10pm, which means it is officially nighttime!...Doesn’t really change anything, but since there’s no real way of telling the time of day, I figured I’d let you know! A headmaster’s gotta make sure his students are well rested, right? Upupu...See you tomorrow!”

The speaker apparently turned off with a staticky crackle.

“...It’s 10pm already?” Rantaro asked.

Jasper sighed. “Oh please, I’ve stayed up later than this.”

“Why do you keep focusing on the wrong thing?”

“Yeah, but since when did 10pm mean nighttime?”

Almost as if on cue, all of their Monopad-Minis vibrated. Rantaro took his out, and saw that the list of rules had been updated.

_Rule 8. “Nighttime” is officially designated as the hours between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m._

Jasper raised his eyebrows. “...Ah.”

“So what do we do now?” Rantaro asked.

“Eeh...I dunno,” Kokoro noted. “It’s been a long day, I think we should get some rest.”

“Yeah, but shouldn’t we try to figure out what the hell we’re gonna do next?” Saiko asked.

“We’ll meet up again tomorrow,” Rantaro suggested. “We could try to find people to help us tomorrow too. How does that sound?”

Saiko nodded. “Good idea.”

“So is that it, then? We’re heading to where the dorms are?” Kokoro stretched her arms a little. “‘Cause I don’t know about you guys, but I’m beat.”

Jasper shrugged. “Being kidnapped takes a lot out of you.”

Rantaro internally admitted himself that he was also starting to feel tired.

“Yeah, I agree. We should go.” He turned over to Jasper. “You remember where the dorms are, right?”

Jasper folded his arms. “And _you_ don’t?”

“You never told me about here.” Rantaro said, pointing at the door.

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “Touché. Whatever, they’re this way...”

The four of them were evidently the last to the dorm rooms, as the hallway was now completely empty.

“Now the fact that this academy has accommodation makes sense.” Jasper noted.

“Do you reckon Monokuma really is gonna make us stay here forever?” Saiko asked.

Rantaro didn’t say anything at first. What happened at the end of his announcement that morning showed that Monokuma certainly wasn’t bluffing about making them follow his rules, but he wasn’t really going to make them stay at the academy forever, right? After all, he still needed to find-

_Task at hand, Rantaro. Focus on the task at hand._

Rantaro just shook his head. “I’m really not sure what’s gonna happen next.”

“I don’t think any of us are...” Saiko agreed solemnly.

The four of them were silent for a bit.

Saiko shrugged and started to walk off. “Whatever, standing here sulking about things isn’t gonna change anything.” He turned around to send a wink in Rantaro’s direction. “See you tomorrow, right?”

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah. See you tomorrow.”

Saiko smiled and headed to his dorm.

Jasper took the opportunity to teasingly elbow Rantaro in the side.

“You like him, don’t you~?”

Rantaro shoved him off. “Shut up!”

“I mean he IS pretty good-looking, so I can get why you-”

Rantaro shoved him off again, starting to get flustered. “_Shut! Up!_”

Jasper laughed nonchalantly, before his ominous aura suddenly returned, with the apparent glow to his eyes also returning.

“You really are fun to play with, Rantaro.” He smirked. “_You might just be one of my favourites._”

Rantaro took a step back in surprise. “W-what?”

Jasper immediately snapped back to normal. “People. You might just be one of my favourite people.” He put his hand on his hip and looked at him skeptically. “...What’re you staring at? You’re looking at me like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

“U-uh...Nothing, it’s fine.” Rantaro stammered, still unnerved. “I’m just...Tired is all.”

Jasper gave him a suspicious look for a few seconds, before shrugging. “If you say so.” He rested his hands behind his head and started heading to his own dorm. “See you in the morning.”

Rantaro furrowed his brows as he watched Jasper leave. “There’s something really weird about that guy...” He shook the thoughts out of his head and started to leave. “Oh well, I’d better head-”

He was stopped by someone grabbing his hand.

“Huh?” He spun around and realised that he had forgotten Kokoro was with them. “Oh, Kokoro. Are you okay?”

Kokoro tilted her head. “Are you?”

“...What do you mean?”

“You seemed kinda nervous earlier. And you got pretty agitated when Tsumugi said there was no point in escaping.” Kokoro gave him a concerned look. “So are you?”

Rantaro frowned, slightly subdued that Kokoro could tell.

He sighed. “Alright, fine. I’m not. This just...Feels so surreal, y’know?”

_Like a sick twisted nightmare..._He said internally.

Kokoro shrugged. “Preaching with the choir there...I’m finding it hard to believe everything that’s happening myself.”

“Wait,” Rantaro asked. “Why do you care how _I_ feel?”

“I don’t know, I’m just...” She looked at him with those concerned eyes again. “Worried about you. I’m...Worried about everyone of course, but you’re...” She trailed off. “Never mind...”

She eventually looked back up to him with a more hopeful look in her eyes.

“Just know that everything is gonna turn out okay. I promise!”

Something about the look in her eyes must have stirred something inside him, as a cluster of thoughts suddenly filled his head, all of them carrying the same meaning.

_I̵ ̵c̸a̴n̵’̶t̸ ̵l̸e̶t̴ ̸a̶n̵y̴t̷h̶i̵n̸g̷ ̴h̵a̴p̵p̴e̴n̴ ̶t̶o̴ ̸h̴e̴r̴.̵_

_Ḯ̴̼ ̸̲͘n̸̲̆e̴͈̐e̴̠͠ḏ̷͑ ̵̺̚t̵̘̒ō̴͍ ̸̪̉ŝ̶͙ā̸͙v̸͚e̷͍͋ ̸̼̍ḩ̷̆e̴̥̎ŕ̴̖.̸̭̀_

_Ḯ̶̟̘̲̖͋ ̶̧̣͈͈͒̈́̎n̵͖̍e̷͉͒͐ẻ̸͇̱̅̕ḏ̴̼̯͝ ̷͙͍͕̇̌̈́̈́ͅt̴̲̂ō̵͚̦͉̊͠ ̷̠͎̠͍͒̃̕s̸̯̔́̈́͐å̶͔̻̼v̴̛̟͝e̶͎̎͌͝ ̸͙̈́ͅḣ̷̨̥̜͋̿͊e̸͈̐̔̐̉r̶͇͋̄.̶̟͝_

_Ȉ̴̻͓̋͒̔͆̎́̌͝ ̷̧̫̬͕̭̤̟͛͊̇̏͑͑̓̐̕͝n̶̡̜͛̓̋͊̔͆̋̈́̇ͅé̸̱̺̗͎̺̍͜͜e̴̼̬̜͍̲̻̜̺̐͜d̶̲̦͑̕ ̶̯͕͗̉t̴̡͎̥̗̆̐̓̾̄̍̕͜͝o̷̼̻̹͙̦̅͋͒̿̂̽͝-_

Kokoro’s face abruptly fell. “Rantaro, is something wrong?”

Rantaro suddenly snapped back to attention, the cluster of thoughts vanishing into thin air.

It was at this point that he realised he had something cold running down his face.

“Huh?” He put his hand to his cheek, and the wet touch revealed his suspicions were confirmed.

He was...Crying.

“What the…?” He said, confused. “How did…!?”

“You must have just started crying due to stress or something...” Kokoro suggested with a shrug.

Rantaro took some time to wipe the suddenly appearing tears from his eyes. “R-right...”

Kokoro sighed. “I guess that means it’s a good time to head to bed now.” She yawned. “I’m tired...”

Rantaro laughed to himself a little, albeit a little forced. “Yeah, I’d better do the same.”

Kokoro headed to her dorm and waved. “See you in the morning!”

Rantaro waved back. “Yeah. See you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh? What's this~?  
I'm really hoping that this drive continues and I'm able to get the next chapter out soon. Hopefully!  
Thank you guys so much for reading! I really hope you all enjoyed! <3  
(please leave theories/comments below!)


	6. The Second Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the second day at Starlight Academy. The Kokoro-titled Killing Game Busters decide to try and find more members, but Monokuma has something else on his mind...

It was a good while before Rantaro decided to force himself to wake up.

However, it wasn’t exactly of his own choosing.

He was kind-of a quarter stirred awake when he realised that he had been lying in one position for what felt like too long.

However, when he tried to turn over...He couldn’t move.

Confused, he tried again.

Still nothing.

Something was weighing him down.

Something was on top of him.

Still not sure whether he was dreaming or not, he decided to force his eyes open.

After a few blinks, he eventually managed to make out a violet-coloured figure taking up his field of vision.

It didn’t take him long to realise what was going on.

Jasper gave him a smirk. “Good morning, sleeping beauty.”

Rantaro immediately took the most sensible course of action and threw Jasper off of the bed.

Despite the rough landing, Jasper managed to ease himself into a sitting position.

He raised an eyebrow. “Uh, rude?”

“Jasper, what the hell!?” Rantaro snapped. “Why were you lying on top of me!?”

Jasper pointed to the door. “You left your door unlocked.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question!”

“Well you slept through the morning announcement so I came to wake you up.”

Rantaro tried to rub the remaining tiredness out of his eyes, making a point to keep his left eye shut. “Morning announcement?”

“Yeah, Monokuma has a ‘hey it’s time to wake up’ thing too. But yeah, I figured we should get the team together to talk, so I went to get you first. You didn’t answer when I knocked, and you left your door unlocked, sooo...”

Jasper nonchalantly shrugged, as if he thought that lying on top of someone you barely knew while they were asleep was a completely natural thing to do.

“It was only for, like, five minutes though.” He smirked and gave Rantaro a wink. “You’re actually really cute when you sleep by the way.”

Rantaro narrowed his eyes. “...You’re insane.”

Jasper laughed. “The best people are!”

“Alright, you got me.” He pointed at the door. “Now get out while I try to wake myself up properly.”

Jasper raised his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, fine. I need to get the others anyway. We’ll meet in the dining hall.”

Rantaro eyed him with concern. “...Please don’t lie on top of any of them.”

“Don’t worry,” Jasper replied as he casually left the room. “I won’t.”

Rantaro sighed. “...There really is something about him...”

He managed to pull himself out of the bed, walked over to the dorm room’s bathroom and splashed his face a few times with water from the sink in an attempt to fully wake himself up.

Even though a day had already passed, he was still struggling to process everything that had happened.

They were all trapped here.

These thoughts continued to invade his mind as he fixed the cover on his bed.

He didn’t want to imagine what would happen if they stayed there much longer. If he stayed here for too long, he wouldn’t be able to-

That settled it. He had to get out.

But the only way to get out of this was murdering someone. Someone he hadn’t even known for a day yet, but it would still be murder.

_Would it really be right to sacrifice someone I barely knew if I would still have a chance to save…?_

He sighed.

_...I need something to drink._

He left his room and headed downstairs.

Rantaro expected Jasper to be waiting for him when he got to the kitchen, but found Miko instead.

“Ah!” He greeted. “Rantaro, right? Good morning!”

“Yeah.” Rantaro replied with a shrug as he took a seat at a nearby table. “As good as a morning as it can be when you’re essentially being held hostage, I guess...”

Miko’s face fell a little, then he gestured to a cup he had set down beside an electric kettle on the countertop.

“I’m just making some tea. Would you like some?”

Rantaro would’ve preferred coffee, but he didn’t mind having tea instead. “Sure. Thanks.”

Miko nodded with a smile and turned back around to get another cup ready.

As he was doing this, Rantaro sighed, took out his Monopad-Mini and flicked to the rules section.

_Rule 4. If nobody graduates, the killing game will continue until there are only two people left._

He looked at this specific rule with a frown.

For some reason, there was something about this rule that bugged him.

He just couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

His grip tightened around his Monopad-Mini for a few seconds, then he sighed and put it down.

It was at this moment that he realised that the kettle hadn’t been boiling.

“Hm?” He looked up to see how Miko was doing.

He was still staring at the kettle.

“Hey,” Rantaro asked. “You okay over there?”

“Eh-!?” Miko suddenly snapped back to attention and turned around. “U-uh, yeah! I’m fine! Won’t...Uh...Won’t be long.”

He turned back over to the kettle, looking it over with a completely confused expression.

Rantaro was also confused by this.

Then he remembered that Miko had also been confused by the Monopad-Minis that Monokuma had handed out the day before, as well as him briefly mentioning that he had never had a mobile phone.

“...Miko...”

Miko turned back around.

“...Do you not know how to use an electric kettle?”

Miko didn’t say anything at first, then sighed in resignation.

“...Alright yes, I don’t...”

Rantaro raised his eyebrows. “Oh.”

Rantaro immediately got up and walked over to help. (and was relieved to notice that he at least knew to put teabags in the cups)

“You just flick this little switch, see?”

Rantaro flicked the switch at the bottom of the kettle. It lit up, causing Miko to ever so slightly jump back.

“It’s okay,” Rantaro reassured. “That just lets you know it’s working.”

“...O-oh.”

“Have you never used one of these?”

“No,” Miko explained sheepishly. “While I do understand the concept of containing the tea leaves in a smaller package, I’ve never used one of...” He gestured to the kettle, which was starting to boil. “...Those.”

“What, did you only ever have leaf tea? By boiling a pot over a stove or something?”

Miko gave him another confused look.

_...Does he not know what a stove is either!?_

Rantaro sighed and pointed to a set of stovetops on a conveniently nearby oven. “Those?”

“Oh, no. We didn’t have those either...Or the device underneath it.”

“Wait, what!?”

Before Miko could say anything else, the switch clicking back and the sound of water boiling alerted them that the kettle was done.

“Oh. Huh.” Rantaro noted, before pouring the water into the two cups. After removing the teabags and discarding them in a nearby bin – as well as a quick stir – he turned back over to Miko.

“What do you take?”

Miko gave him yet another confused look. “…‘Take’?”

“Y’know. Milk, sugar, that kinda thing.”

“…...People have tea with milk and sugar?”

“…I’ll...Take that as a no.” Rantaro replied, before quickly adding some milk and sugar to his own cup.

The two of them then took their respective cups and sat down at the table.

“So,” Rantaro started. “I...Now have quite a bit of questions.”

“Huh? About what?”

Rantaro made a subtle gesture to the electric kettle before taking a sip of his tea. (he had no idea what brand Monokuma got, but it was actually pretty decent. He made a quick mental note to try the coffee at some point.)

“Oh, right...Apologies, I’m not all that experienced with...” Miko stopped for a few seconds, as if trying to find the right words. “...Modern...Technology...”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “How come?”

“I never used any devices like these growing up, you see.”

“What, so things like TV, mobile phones, computers,” Rantaro asked, listing off each device on his free hand. “That kind of thing?”

“Yes, exactly.” Miko also took out his own Monopad-Mini to show him. “Even the machines Monokuma gave us yesterday are completely new to me. I’m still trying to figure out how this one works...”

Rantaro nodded in interest. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, where _did_ you grow up?”

“In the Japanese mountains.” Miko explained. “Oji-san built a small house with a forge there.”

“Oji-san...” Rantaro quickly translated in his head. “Your uncle, right?”

Miko nodded. “Yes. He looked after me for most of my life.”

“What, were your parents away or something?”

Miko suddenly tensed, before looking away uncomfortably.

“...Um...”

Rantaro realised he had evidently touched a nerve, and decided to change the subject before things got too uncomfortable.

“I assume your-”

He was cut off by someone behind him ruffling and messing up his hair with his hand.

“Wh- hey!” He shoved the person’s hand off and quickly fixed his hair back, flustered. “I-I just fixed this!”

Saiko laughed. “Sorry, the opportunity was there and I had to take it!”

Despite being annoying, this seemed to have alleviated the atmosphere since it cause Miko to laugh to himself a little.

As Saiko sat down next to Rantaro, Kokoro suddenly popped up at his other side.

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you!”

“You were?” Rantaro asked.

“Yeah I was wondering where you were, then Jasper came up to me and told me you were down here.”

“Wait, Jas-”

Almost as if on cue, Jasper suddenly appeared behind them.

“Hey.”

The three of them nearly jumped out of their seats.

“WH-!? Where did _you_ come from!?”

Jasper casually strolled around them to Miko’s side of the table, obviously unaware that he had scared them. “You didn’t see me come in.”

He sat next to Miko – the nerves he had around him the day before seemingly gone.

“Hey there. How’s it going?”

“...Fine, I guess.” Miko replied.

Jasper smiled. “Nice.”

“Great! Everyone’s here!” Kokoro said, clapping her hands together. “We can get started!”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “Started with what?”

“Well we need to figure out what we’re gonna do about Monokuma, for starters.” Jasper replied.

“...Isn’t starting with that a little too ambitious?”

Jasper shrugged. “Could be.”

“Okay okay, but still.” Saiko said. “We don’t exactly have an endgame right now, do we?”

“Of course we do!” Kokoro answered confidently. “To end the killing game and get us all out of here!”

Saiko raised an eyebrow. “...Yeah I’m with Rantaro here, that’s _way_ too ambitious.”

“Hmph!” Kokoro puffed out her cheeks and pouted. “No need to be such a killjoy about it!”

“But you can’t deny that Saiko has a bit of a point.” Rantaro explained. “We can’t exactly say we’re going to end the killing game right now. We’ve only been here for a day and have no idea what else Monokuma could do.”

Jasper gave him a fake-looking betrayed expression. “Et tu, Rantaro!?”

Saiko deadpanned him. “...Was that supposed to be a dig at me or a dig at him?”

“Both of you. I was kidding anyway, I’m with you guys.” He shot a glare at Kokoro. “We’ve literally been thrown into a game of life and death. You can’t be naive about it.”

“I’m not being naive!” Kokoro argued.

“Uh, yeah. You kinda are. You’re acting like we can defeat Monokuma and end the killing game with the power of friendship or hope or some bullshit.” He put a slight emphasis on the word “hope” for some reason. “Listen. The police aren’t coming, hope’s not gonna work, and the power of friendship doesn’t exist. Capiche?”

Kokoro looked like she wanted to say something, but pouted again and gave him an indignant glare instead.

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “Huh. You’re really not budging on this. Well what if I said-”

“…Um...I get the distinct impression that I’m not meant to be here?”

It was at this point that the four of them realised that they had forgotten Miko was there. He had evidently gotten up from his chair during Kokoro and Jasper’s miniature argument and was standing uncomfortably near the counter.

“O-oh, uh, no it’s fine.” Rantaro said reassuringly.

Kokoro got an idea.

“Actually,” She said. “Do you wanna help us?”

“...What?” Miko asked.

“Yeah, what?” Saiko agreed.

“You said last night that we needed more numbers to properly combat Monokuma, right?” Kokoro explained. “I’m taking an opportunity!”

“Oh yeah.” Rantaro nodded. “Good thinking, Kokoro.”

“Numbers for what?” Miko asked, still confused.

“Oh, right.” Rantaro decided to explain. “Kokoro had the idea of forming a team to work together against Monokuma.”

“Yeah, but we have no idea what we’re doing.” Jasper noted.

“...Okay, yeah, we have no idea what we’re doing. But it would be a good idea for us to stick together. It’s just the four of us for now, but I figured we’d need more numbers. So how about it?”

Miko thought for a few seconds before nodding. “Okay. I’ll do it. We can’t take Monokuma’s rule lying down.”

Jasper raised his eyebrows. “Wait, seriously?”

“Yes. I may consider myself as a pacifist, but once I find whoever is behind this, I will not hesitate to beat their rubbish mentality into submission.”

“Well that’s one way of looking at it.”

Kokoro clapped her hands together. “Great! We already have a new member!”

Saiko gave her a skeptical look. “You can’t treat this like some kind of after school club, Kokoro.”

Kokoro stuck her tongue out. “You can’t stop me.”

“Right, so what now?” Rantaro asked.

“We find more recruits, obviously!”

“Jeez Kokoro,” Saiko said with an eye roll. “Now you’re making this sound like some kind of cult.”

“It’s not a cult!”

“You sure about that?” Jasper asked teasingly.

“Shut up! Anyway, Amai’s also joining.”

“Wait, Amai?” Rantaro asked.

“Yeah, of course she’s joining us!”

“You’re...Just deciding that now?” Saiko questioned. “You haven’t even asked her yet.”

“Oh I’m gonna. And she’ll say yes. I just know it!”

“Kokoro, just because she’s friends with you online doesn’t mean she’ll agree to everything you ask.” Jasper said.

“On...Line?” Miko asked, confused.

“Y’know,” Jasper said with a shrug. “On the internet.”

Miko gave him a confused look.

“...Please tell me you know what the internet is.”

“He doesn’t.” Rantaro said. “Anyway, I think the best way to do this is to work in groups.” He turned to Kokoro. “You’re gonna try to find Amai, right?”

Kokoro nodded. “Yup.”

“Okay, while you’re doing that,” He pointed to Jasper and Miko. “You two can go together and I’ll go with Saiko. But we can split when we need to and I’ll probably try to find you to see how things are going. Got that?”

Saiko shrugged. “Sounds good.”

Kokoro nodded. “That sounds like a great plan!”

“I must say,” Jasper said with a smile. “You’re good at being a leader, Rantaro.”

“Wait, really?” Rantaro said. “I...Literally just said what we needed to do, I didn’t-”

His eyes narrowed and his smile turned sinister. _“You might just be useful for me.”_

“Wait, what?”

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you just say something?”

“...Yeah, I said you were good at being a leader. What about it?”

Rantaro narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “...Right..”

“Okay, I think we should split.” Kokoro said, already heading for the door. “I’m gonna see if I can find where Amai is.”

“If that’s what we’re doing then,” Miko said. “We should try to look for people too.” He nodded towards Jasper. “Shall we?”

Jasper smirked. “No need to ask.”

When they were leaving, Jasper turned and shot a wink in Rantaro’s direction before going out the door.

This left Rantaro alone with Saiko.

Rantaro sighed. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get him...”

“Don’t worry,” Saiko replied. “You’re far from the only one. He had a point, though.”

“Huh?”

“About you being a good leader. He was right about that.”

“How so?”

“I dunno, you just seem like a guy who’s able to lead. If you get what I mean.”

Rantaro looked down. “Thanks, I guess.”

Neither of them said anything for a bit.

“...Soooo...” Saiko started. “Anyone you want to ask?”

“Actually, there is someone I think we should ask.”

“No.”

“Wh- we haven’t even finished the question yet!”

Rantaro had gone with Saiko to the rec room. Sachiko – with a newer version of her jacket – was leaning against the counter with a glare. Haruto was also in the room on one of the chairs, but he was minding his own business.

“And I already gave you my answer.” Sachiko growled. “No.”

Saiko looked over to Rantaro. “I told you this would be the response.”

Rantaro sighed. “Look, you’re obviously mad at Monokuma about what happened, right? This would give you the opportunity to get one up on him.”

“I want to fuck Monokuma up on my own terms. Not anyone else’s.” Sachiko dismissed them. “Case closed. I’m not helping you.”

“Sachiko, listen-”

“Besides, why would I join with a bunch of people who have no idea what they’re even doing?”

Nobody said anything.

Saiko shrugged. “She has a point.”

“Exactly.” Sachiko got up and left out the door. “No.”

A long and awkward silence ensued after Sachiko slammed the door.

Saiko shook his head. “Well that was a total bust.”

“Ugh…!” Rantaro groaned. “Whatever, let’s see if we can-”

“I can help you if you want.”

During the back and forth with Sachiko, Rantaro had failed to notice that Haruto was also in the room.

“What?”

Haruto shrugged. “You need more hands. I can help you.”

“Uh,” Saiko asked. “Didn’t you hear the part about us having no idea what we’re doing?”

Haruto raised an eyebrow. “You on his side or not?”

“Touché.”

“So you want to join us then?” Rantaro asked.

“Why would I be saying so if I didn’t?” Haruto replied, getting up off his chair. “We can’t exactly take this whole killing game thing lying down, and nothing’s gonna happen if we don’t fight back. Just like in-”

Saiko stopped him. “Don’t make a reference to a musical.”

Haruto took a step back and put his hands up in mock defence. “Jeez! Okay, fine!”

He laughed a little, before turning his attention to Rantaro.

“You also seem like a cool guy, Rantaro. It’ll be nice to work with you.”

He shot him a wink.

Rantaro stopped and internally cursed how handsome the Broadway actor was.

“T-thanks...”

Haruto smiled and gave him a finger-gun sign. “Don’t mention it.”

“Huh. Neat. Shouldn’t someone be keeping a list of this?” Saiko asked.

“Bold of you to assume I wasn’t.”

Everyone jumped and turned around as soon as they heard Jasper’s voice at the entrance.

He smirked and nodded to them as a greeting. “‘Sup.”

“How do you keep DOING that!?” Rantaro exclaimed.

“Shouldn’t you be with Miko right now?” Saiko asked.

“Well we tried to ask Rikona and she called us ‘peasants’ a gajillion times.” Jasper explained. “So he decided to split off and ask Ayano.” He shrugged. “Wouldn’t be surprised if she said no.”

“She _might_ say yes.” Haruto said.

Jasper raised an eyebrow.

“...Good point.”

“That’s annoying...” Saiko said, slightly dejected. “She seems smart. Would be good to have her on our side.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Jasper replied. “We still have more people to ask.”

“Yeah,” Saiko agreed, before listing the people he thought were left. “We still have Ahmya, Kaoru, that Yuuma kid, and Tsu-”

“We are not asking Tsumugi.” Rantaro said bluntly.

“Whoa, what?”

“Didn’t you hear what she said yesterday?” He continued. “She thinks the only way of getting out of here is playing along with Monokuma’s game. We can’t have someone like that on our side. Not to mention...” He clenched his fist. “...She’s _really_ getting on my nerves...”

Nobody said anything for a bit.

Jasper shrugged. “Seems legit.”

“Yeah, she’s being very uncooperative to everyone.” Haruto agreed. “Not really a good idea to try to work with someone who isn’t a team player. Trust me, I’ve had to deal with a _lot_ of castmates like that.”

Saiko raised an eyebrow. “Wait, ‘castmates’?”

“Y’know,” Haruto said with a shrug. “Castmates. Members of a cast.”

“Oh right, as in a show cast.”

“Yeah, pretty difficult to say anything back when your career can depend on it sometimes.”

Rantaro stopped. “Huh?”

“But that’s a different thing entirely,” Haruto said, dismissing the subject. “Don’t you guys need to get more people or something?”

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah, we do.”

_There’s only a handful of people left…_ Rantaro thought. _Might be able to catch them myself if I’m lucky. I’ll have to-_

“Go on your own?”

Rantaro stopped and turned around as soon as Jasper said that. “What!?”

Jasper shrugged. “You’re thinking of going on your own, right?”

Rantaro sighed and took a deep breath. “...Okay. How the hell are you doing that.”

Jasper gave him a confused look. “Doing what?”

“What you just did!”

“What’re you-?”

“You did it yesterday too! You mentioned my sisters in the middle of a conversation even though I never brought them up!”

“Wait, as in plural-?” Saiko and Haruto asked simultaneously.

Rantaro spun around to them. _“I’ll get to that in a minute!”_ He quickly turned back to Jasper. “You never explained that, by the way!”

“Explained what?” Jasper asked.

“How you read my mind like that! You LITERALLY finished a sentence I was saying in my head! How the hell can you read my mind!?”

Jasper still gave him that confused look, but then realised what Rantaro was talking about.

“Oh, that!” He laughed to himself. “I’m just really good at reading people, I guess.”

“...That’s it?”

“Yep.”

“You’re just really good at reading people?”

Jasper shrugged. “If you say so.”

“Wait- what do you mean, ‘if you say so’!?”

Jasper smirked, that slight glow to his eyes returning. “Well, I can’t give away all my secrets, can I?”

With that, he turned around and walked out the door.

The rec room was silent for a while.

Rantaro sighed in slight annoyance. “There really **is **something up with him...”

“...Okay, am I the only one who’s completely lost here?” Haruto asked.

“Nope, you’re not the only one.” Saiko replied.

“Whatever,” Rantaro said. “Jasper’s..._Eccentricities..._Aside, do you two mind if I go on my own?” He pointed to the door. “I’m thinking about asking Kaoru, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to bust down his door in an attempt to recruit him.”

“Kaoru?” Saiko asked.

“Yeah, that’s a good call.” Haruto nodded. “He’s kinda a medic, isn’t he?”

“Child medic, but close enough.”

“Well he was able to help Sachiko earlier, that’s something!”

“Yeah, either way,” Rantaro continued. “I doubt he’ll say yes, but it still might be a good idea to ask. I just don’t think kicking down his lab door and trying to recruit him would be a good idea.”

Saiko nodded. “Yeah, good idea. He practically had a panic attack as soon as Monokuma suggested we kill each other, remember?”

“Exactly. So do you two mind if I go on my own?”

Haruto shrugged. “Fine by me.”

Saiko nodded in agreement. “Yeah, go ahead.”

Rantaro nodded. “Thanks. Meet you guys later, okay?”

With that, he headed out the door.

Rantaro hadn’t been walking down the hall for long until he bumped into someone else.

“Yo, Amami!”

Rantaro turned around when he heard Yuuma’s voice behind him.

Yuuma gave him a smile. “Good, you’re here.”

“What, were you trying to find me?”

“Yeah, heard from the grapevine that you and a couple others needed help.”

Rantaro raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Did you?”

Yuuma shrugged. “Amai told me.”

“...Ah.” He realised. “So what, are you asking to join or something?”

Yuuma raised an eyebrow. “Why would I bring it up otherwise?”

“Good point...While I’m here, do you know where-”

“Hey.”

The two of them stopped when a third voice joined them.

Ahmya had walked over, but was still a short distance away from them.

Her eyes narrowed. “Why are you two standing in the middle of the hall?”

“Oh, uh...” Rantaro didn’t expect the introverted archer to approach him directly. “Well, I-”

Yuuma managed to save the conversation. “I wanted to ask him something.”

“Lemme guess,” Ahmya said, pointing to the hallway behind her. “Same thing the girl with the horns was blabbing about?”

Rantaro stopped. “...Oh. You already know.”

She sighed. “She needs to learn to keep her mouth shut. To avoid risking Monokuma finding out about your little coup.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it a coup.”

Ahmya shrugged. “Same either way.”

“Well, whatever.” Yuuma said. “I’ve done what I needed to do.” He turned around and casually strolled away. “Later, guys.”

Rantaro was left alone with Ahmya. Neither of them said anything.

Struggling to find something to talk about, Rantaro eventually settled on the first thing to come to his mind.

“...You wanna help us?”

Ahmya gave a questioning look. “What?”

Rantaro realised how dumb his question was.

“Well, no doubt you heard from Amai.” He continued with a shrug. “I mean, we kinda have no idea what we’re doing, but...”

Ahmya took a while to respond.

“...Mmkay.”

“I mean I understand if you don’t want to-” It took a while for Rantaro to register her response. “Wait. What?”

“I said okay. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Whoa! Well, uh,” Out of everyone at the academy, Ahmya was one of the last people Rantaro was expecting to say yes. “That’s...Great!”

Ahmya raised an eyebrow. “You were expecting me to say no, weren’t you.”

He looked to the side bashfully. “A little...”

“Heh...”

_...Was that a laugh!?_

She smirked a little. “I like you.”

Rantaro smiled a little himself. He wasn’t sure if that was a compliment, but was glad that the girl was opening up to him. “Thanks.”

Neither of them said anything for a bit, until Rantaro remembered his initial intention.

“While I’m here, do you have any idea where Kaoru is?”

She put a hand to her chin. “...Kaoru...” She thought for a moment. “Purple, glasses, nervous disposition?”

“Yeah, him.”

Ahmya shrugged. “Holed up in his lab, probably. Saw him go in there earlier when I was heading down to the kitchen to get some coffee. Tall white guy was there too.”

“Miko?”

“Yeah, he was with that sleepy brunette chick. Was trying to talk to her quite a bit, but she was half-asleep on the table and probably only half-listening.”

“Ah, that makes sense.” _Guess Jasper was right about Ayano saying no, then._ “So you reckon Kaoru’s still in his lab?”

“He had a panic attack as soon as Monokuma suggested murder yesterday.”

“Good point.”

“What, you planning on asking him?” She asked skeptically. “I don’t think he’d be all up to joining this coup of yours.”

“Still not a coup.”

“Same difference. Either way, I doubt he’d want to fight Monokuma directly.”

Rantaro didn’t say anything, as he had the same feeling as well. Sure, having some form of a medic would be useful, but Kaoru is probably too terrified of Monokuma to want to fight back.

“...Good point...” He said. “But he is a nice guy to talk to.”

Ahmya shrugged. “I guess. Seems polite enough.”

“He’s a paediatrician, I think he kinda needs to be.”

“True...” She twirled a stray lock of her ponytail with her finger. “So you gonna go talk to him now?”

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah. See you around.”

Ahmya nodded, as if to say goodbye.

Rantaro turned around and left.

This had been the most talkative Ahmya had been so far, and part of him was glad that he was getting her to open up more.

He smiled to himself, happy that he was hopefully making a new friend, and started to head to the lower floor.

It didn’t take him long to find the door to Kaoru’s lab.

Hoping not to startle him, Rantaro gently knocked on the door.

Kaoru’s voice responded from inside.

“Ah, Rantaro, right?” He said.

Rantaro stopped. “How did you know that was-? Yeah, it’s me.”

“Good! C-come in!”

Rantaro pushed the door open. He noticed that a number of books, most likely from the library upstairs, were neatly stacked on the unit. Kaoru had one in his hands and was sitting on the office chair.

He looked up to him with a smile. “Uh, hi!”

“Hey.” Rantaro pointed to the door. “...How did you-”

“I can tell who people are from them knocking on a door.”

“...We’ve only been here for a day! How did-!?”

Kaoru quietly laughed to himself. “Habit I picked up at the hospital...Kinda had to do it with the number of other doctors coming into my office...”

“That’s...Actually pretty cool.” Rantaro remarked.

“T-thanks...But it’s really not...” He subtly gestured to the cube chair in front of the table. “T-take a seat. You came here for a reason, right?”

“Yeah, actually.” Rantaro made his way over to the cube chair and sat down – facing Kaoru rather than the table. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“Y-you did?” Kaoru folded the page he was on over and laid his book on the unit next to the others. “What is it?”

“Well, we can’t exactly take Monokuma’s rule lying down, you know?” He explained. “Kokoro had the idea of getting some of us together in order to oppose him directly. Only thing is...” He laughed to himself. “...We kinda have no idea what we’re doing...”

Kaoru nodded, listening. “Makes sense...We’ve only been here for a day...”

Rantaro continued. “I think you can guess what I want to ask you. Don’t worry, I’m not trying to force you or anything. I completely understand if you don’t want to, okay?”

“...O-okay...”

“...So...Do you want to help us, or…?”

Kaoru looked down and balled his fists nervously, before shaking his head. “...I-I’m sorry...”

“Nonono, it’s fine.” Rantaro put his hands up reassuringly. “You’re scared. I get it. Honestly...I’m a little scared too. We all are. But we’ll get through this. I promise.”

Kaoru crossed his hands over nervously and looked to the side. “...Mhm...”

Rantaro looked around, desperate to change the subject, before eventually landing on the books neatly piled up on the unit. They all had faded hardback covers and were thick with many pages.

“I see you’ve gotten a lot of books from the library.” He noted.

“Huh?” He turned and realised what Rantaro was looking at. “Oh, yeah...Despite being very psychotic, Monokuma has a good fantasy fiction selection...” He joked wryly.

“You like fantasy fiction?” Rantaro asked.

Kaoru nodded. “Yeah, my boyfriend got me into the genre.”

“...You have a boyfriend?”

“‘Had’.” He corrected. “He worked in the casualty ward. He was nice and we hit it off, so...”

“What happened? Did he-”

“Ah, n-no! Nothing like that! It just wasn’t working...We had to break it off, but we’re still friends.”

Rantaro shrugged. “That’s good, at least.”

Kaoru nodded slowly.

He looked like he was about to say something, before a familiar chime cut him off.

He froze as soon as he recognised it. “...O-oh no...”

Like with the nighttime announcement the previous day, Rantaro couldn’t see the speaker playing the announcement as it wasn’t in the room, but he could still hear Monokuma’s voice crackle out.

“Attention, all students!” He said. “I have a _veeeeeeery_ special announcement for all of you! So head to the stage room on ze double!”

“**Another** announcement…!?” Rantaro asked to himself as the audio cut out.

Kaoru shivered. “W-why does there need to be another one…!?”

Rantaro shook his head. “No clue...But we don’t exactly have a choice, do we?”

Kaoru nodded shakily.

Rantaro offered his hand to help him up. “Here. You wanna come with me?”

Kaoru flinched back in surprise, but eventually took Rantaro’s hand.

The two of them weren’t the last people to arrive in the stage room, as a number of people were making their way in after they arrived.

Rantaro made a point of finding Saiko, with Kaoru trailing after him.

“Oh good, you made it.” Saiko said. “What do you reckon the psycho bear wants this time?”

Rantaro shook his head. “No clue, but it can’t be good.”

“Ah! You’re here!”

Rantaro turned around just in time to notice Kokoro and Amai running over.

“But yeah I agree, I don’t think it’s good.” She agreed.

“Yeah,” Amai said. “I doubt anything that bear thing has to say is good.”

“We haven’t even heard what he wants to say yet.” Jasper said from behind them, having also arrived with Miko in tow.

“True,” Miko replied. “But since he wants us to participate in this killing game, both Kokoro and Rantaro have a point.”

“Yeah, preaching with the choir there.” Yuuma added.

“Aren’t you at least a _little_ curious on what Monokuma wants?” Jasper asked.

“Hell no!” Haruto argued. “He’s crazy!”

“Yup.” Ahmya replied.

“He wants us to kill each other, of course he’s crazy.” Kokoro agreed.

It was at this point that they all realised.

The Kokoro-titled Killing Game Busters (and also Kaoru) were all standing in the middle of the stage room in a massive clump.

Jasper clicked his tongue and sarcastically golf-clapped. “...Totally being inconspicuous, guys. Great job.”

“Hey!” Tsumugi shouted from across the room. “Why are all of you idiots standing in a circle!?”

“We’re not in a circle!” Rantaro countered.

“Uh, we kinda are?” Amai said.

“Not helping.” Ahmya replied. “But we do need to spread out. We’re standing like a bunch of gazelles.”

Everyone murmured in agreement and started to separate.

But before they could, Monokuma appeared at his podium on the stage.

“Heeeello, students!” He chimed.

Nobody said anything.

“…‘Hello, headmaster Monokuma’…!” He said to himself, mimicking a class greeting their headmaster at a school assembly. “Seriously, what does it take to get respect from you lot!?”

“You’re not getting our respect anytime soon.” Rantaro snapped.

“Now that’s just rude.” The bear pouted.

“I reiterate. Not getting our respect.”

“W-we all heard the announcement...” Kaoru stuttered. “W-what is it that you want to say? Y-you said it was important, right?”

“Why, of course it is! And I assume you’re all curious, arent’cha?”

Nobody replied, and Monokuma took the silence as an agreement.

“Great! Well, I recognised a flaw in my announcement yesterday.”

“What,” Kokoro asked. “Other than the very obvious flaw of wanting us to kill each other?”

“I wouldn’t call that a flaw, but exactamundo! I noticed that you all seem preeeetty reluctant to kill each other. Now, this was just confusing to me, ‘cause I gave you all the right ingredients! People to kill, a starting incentive, I even gave you weapons!”

Rantaro froze. “Weapons?”

“Yeah, duh! Can’t kill someone without a weapon! You just have to look closely to find them! Upupu…!” Monokuma laughed. “Now where was I…? Oh, yes! I gave you all the ingredients, except one..._Motivation!_”

“Motivation…?” Rantaro asked. “What do you mean by that!?”

“Motive to kill, obviously!” Monokuma smirked. “And that’s why I brought you all here today! I’m gonna give all of you a **motive**!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooooooo  
I'm not gonna reveal the motive until next chapter, so you guys will have to wait until then!  
But...Something else will happen next chapter...*evil laughter*  
Thank you so much for reading until the end, by the way!  
And while there's still time, any guesses~?


	7. Fall From Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a bid to get the killing game rolling, Monokuma gives everyone a motive.  
The motive shakes the class to the core, but that doesn't mean anyone will die, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did any of you get it right? Time to see!

“Motive?” Rantaro asked.

Monokuma deadpanned him. “...Yeah Rantaro, that’s literally what I just said. I’m giving you all a motive to kill!”

“Another one!?” Kokoro argued. “Wasn’t trapping us here enough!?”

“Nobody’s dead yet, so evidently no. I’m kinda starting small for this one, and am hoping to ramp it up soon!”

“Can someone...PLEASE translate what this peasant is blabbing about!?” Rikona asked.

“Allow me to show you!” Monokuma smiled, whipping out a number of slips of paper and throwing them in the air.

Similarly to the Monopad-Minis he dished out yesterday, they all landed in front of or in the hand of each student.

Rantaro’s landed in front of him. It was a small slip of paper and something was written inside, but it was folded in half.

“Okay, before we open these.” Jasper said, picking up his. “...These are bits of paper. How are they gonna push us to murder?”

“It’s not the bits of paper that’s the motive,” Monokuma explained. “It’s what’s written inside that’s the key!”

Kaoru tilted his head a little, confused. “W-what do you mean?”

“On each person’s piece of paper is something that’s important to them,” Monokuma’s grin grew wide and sinister. “_Specifically something that would be at stake if you stayed here any longer!_”

Everyone froze.

Saiko took a step back. “What the hell is he talking about!?”

“I think what he’s saying is,” Ayano said from behind them. “Whatever is on this piece of paper is something important we could risk losing if we don’t escape anytime soon.”

“Eeeeexactly!” Monokuma chimed. “Now go ahead, open ‘em up!”

Hesitantly, Rantaro opened his slip to see what was written inside.

The three words printed on the slip of paper made his blood run cold.

“_Your sisters’ safety.”_

…

_...No._

_No no no no no no no._

It wasn’t like he didn’t already know that, but seeing it printed on that slip of paper hammered the point down further.

_How the hell does Monokuma even know that!?_

The hand Rantaro was holding the paper in started to shake, and his hold on the slip started to tighten to the point that the slip of paper was starting to crumple.

Monokuma was taunting him.

Even still, he couldn’t help but take a shaky step back and put his free hand to his mouth in horror.

The others seemed to have similar reactions.

“...W-what...What the hell _IS_ this!?” Saiko snapped at Monokuma.

Monokuma chuckled. “Weren’t you listening, pretty boy? Whatever’s printed on that slip of paper is something that’ll be at stake if you stay here too long!”

“You motherFUCKER-!”

Saiko started to make a dash for the stage, but was stopped by Miko.

“S-Saiko, calm down!” He pleaded. “We don’t want a repetition of what happened last time!”

“Upupu! Well, that worked better than I expected!” Monokuma laughed. “People are already getting more agitated! Won’t be long before you all start killing, huh?”

“W-we’re not gonna start killing each other!” Kokoro argued.

“We’ll see about that, won’t we? The clock is tick-tick-ticking, everyone! Best get out of there while there’s still time to protect the things you love! Upupupu!”

With that, Monokuma vanished, prompting Miko to let go of Saiko.

Saiko threw his slip of paper on the floor and stomped on it with his heel. “That BASTARD!”

“Whoa, chill!” Haruto said, attempting to calm him down. “Now is not the time for aggression!”

“Uh yeah, no.” Yuuma replied bluntly. “Now kinda **is** the time for aggression.”

“Monokuma seems to have chosen his individual motives well...” Ayano noted.

“How the hell does he even KNOW this shit!?” Sachiko cursed.

“Mm...” Ayano tilted her head to the side. “...He seems to know more about us than we thought, it seems...”

“Yeah, that’s totally not fuckin’ creepy at all.”

“Though I am confused,” She continued. “How are a string of words printed on a slip of paper supposed to motivate us to murder?”

“The hell’s THAT supposed to mean!?” Saiko argued.

“What I mean is that it is simply words on paper. Words alone can’t convince us to kill.”

“I think what she’s trying to say is,” Kokoro explained. “We can’t let this motive sway us. I mean,” She added with a nervous laugh. “They’re just slips of paper, right?”

“You could see it that way,” Rantaro replied, gesturing to his own slip (but not before making a point of folding it back in half). “But some of this is really important to us.”

“Eeh…?” Ayano narrowed her eyes. “How can words on a piece of paper be important, if I must ask?”

“Well if **I** must ask, what the hell did you get on _yours_!?” Saiko questioned.

Ayano’s muted expression shifted to slight anger. “And why should I tell _you_ that?”

“Exactly peasant, some of these matters are private!” Rikona agreed.

“if they’re private, then how does Monokuma know?” Amai asked.

“I don’t think I want to know the answer to that...” Kokoro replied with a shiver.

“...I...I can’t take this...”

“Huh?” Rantaro turned around and saw Kaoru behind him.

His eyes were glued to his slip of paper, which he was holding in both hands.

The poor boy was _shaking_.

“H-hey,” Rantaro started, wanting to try and reassure him. “Are you-”

“_I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!_”

Kaoru spun around and sprinted out of the stage room.

“Kaoru, wait-!”

He was already out of the stage room by the time Rantaro called after him, the doors slamming shut with a bang.

The resulting silence was almost suffocating.

That is until Tsumugi opened her mouth.

“That was quick,” She said casually. “Motive’s already broken someone and it hasn’t even been out for ten minutes.”

“T-Tsumugi! That’s uncalled for!” Kokoro argued.

“What? It’s true.” She smirked. “Maybe he could deal with this if he wasn’t such a spineless wimp.”

“Stop it! You shouldn’t be so insensitive!”

“Oh come on, be honest. He’s spineless. If he either dies, kills someone or kills himself, I wouldn’t be surprised at all!” Tsumugi burst out laughing.

It was at this point that Rantaro decided that he had finally had it with her.

“_Oh why don’t you shut the __**FUCK**__ up_?”

Tsumugi abruptly stopped laughing.

Everyone in the room went silent, and Rantaro soon realised that all eyes were on him.

He sighed.

_I said that out loud, didn’t I._

“...WHAT did you just say to me…?”

_Okay, maybe saying that wasn’t one of my best ideas._

“PLEASE DON’T SAY IT AGAIN.” Kokoro begged.

Yuuma raised his eyebrows. “This is gonna be good.”

“Are the two peasants gonna fight!?” Rikona asked excitedly.

“No! Fighting is the last thing we need right now!” Miko argued.

_...No. This bitch has had it coming for a long time._

He usually would’ve stayed silent – years of resolving conflicts peacefully to be a good example to his sisters had taught him that – but Tsumugi had finally gotten on his last nerve.

Before he knew it, he had clenched his fist and was striding over to her.

Kokoro held her head in her hands. “Oh no.”

Yuuma braced himself in anticipation. “Yes…!”

Saiko brought his hand to his head. “Oh god...”

“I said.” He continued, with an angered edge. “Shut. The fuck. Up.”

Tsumugi flinched back, before angrily biting back.

“OH WHY DON'T **YOU** SHUT UP! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!”

“Well, LOOK WHO'S TALKING! You've done nothing but insult everyone since you got here!”

She stopped. “WHAT!?”

Rantaro smirked. “Oh, you want a fight? You’re getting one.”

“Grr…!” She fumed. “Well of COURSE I’ve been insulting everyone! Wouldn't you do the same if you're surrounded by IDIOTS!?”

“I've done some looking around. And YOU seem to be the only idiot here!”

Saiko looked like he felt like repeatedly slamming his head into a nearby wall. “Oh dear god, this is actually happening.”

“Whoo! This is getting good!” Rikona cheered.

“Hell yeah it is!” Yuuma agreed. “Where’s the popcorn when I need it?”

“Man, if only I had my phone! I could livestream this!” Amai seconded.

“Nobody's livestreaming anything!” Haruto argued. “Can we just-”

He was cut off by Rantaro and Tsumugi continuing their screaming match.

“And what gives YOU the right to order me around anyway!?” She snapped. “You’re just some tacky-looking love interest from a cliched YA novel!”

“So doesn’t that make you a tacky-looking antagonist from an off-brand comic book?”

“Oh please, at least I do something notable with my talent!”

“Oh, so making candy endlessly is notable?”

“It’s a lot more notable than flitting from country to country for no reason, huh?”

_Okay, that’s it._

Rantaro was just about to punch the bitchy Ultimate Confectioner in the face, when someone grabbed him by the shoulder.

He half expected that someone to be Miko, but realised it wasn’t when he ended up being the one – albeit more forcefully – restraining Tsumugi.

“Wh- hey!” Tsumugi snapped, struggling against the taller boy’s hold. “Let go of me!”

“No, this has gone on long enough!” He countered.

_Wait,_ Rantaro realised. _If Miko’s got her, then who-_

“Not gonna lie, that was actually pretty good.”

_...Oh._

Jasper had been silent for so long since Monokuma revealed the motive that Rantaro had completely forgotten he was there.

Jasper shrugged with a slight smirk. “Pretty funny, actually.”

Rantaro sighed. “Lot of pent-up aggression. Having a lot of younger siblings does that to you.”

“Understandable. Well, you two can hate each other in your own time.”

“Aw, come on!” Rikona whined. “It was getting good!”

“How was _any of that_ good!?” Kokoro argued.

Sachiko shrugged. “It was pretty funny. Besides, that bitch had it coming.”

“I can hear you!” Tsumugi snapped.

She raised an eyebrow. “You were meant to.”

“Yeah whatever,” Yuuma dismissed. “It was great while it lasted, but Jasper kinda has a point.” He took out his slip of paper – folded in half – and showed it to the group. “We still have this to deal with.”

“Well you idiots can deal with it.” Tsumugi said bluntly. “I’m out of here.” She sharply elbowed Miko to get him to let go. “Let go of me.”

Miko flinched back and dropped her. “S-sorry…!”

Tsumugi made her way to the door, but not before flashing a glare at Rantaro as she walked past.

“I hate you.” She hissed.

Rantaro smirked. “Hate you too.”

She made a point of slamming the door behind her when she walked out.

“Okay, so now what?” Rantaro asked. “Monokuma’s given us a motive now.”

Jasper nodded. “Whatever’s written on our pieces of paper is at stake if we stay here any longer.”

“Yeah, not exactly something we can ignore.” Saiko agreed. “Some of this is pretty important.”

“Someone’s already been broken by it.” Ahmya noted, pointing at the door.

Rantaro nodded. “I’ll go and talk to him. Hopefully I’ll be able to calm him down.”

Haruto nodded. “Good call.”

“Yeah, but what do the rest of us do?” Yuuma asked.

“It might be a good idea to try and figure out this motive on our own,” Miko suggested. “And meet up tomorrow morning maybe?”

“That’s a great idea!” Amai agreed.

“Yeah, it’s a good idea to try and understand the motive individually before we decide anything.”

Rantaro nodded. “Good. So are we-”

“Wait.”

He was cut off by Rikona, causing him to realise that the “Killing Game Busters” were in the clump again, with her, Ayano and Sachiko standing off to the side.

She continued. “So are you all like a team or something?”

Rantaro shrugged. “I guess.”

“Yeah!” Kokoro said chirpily. “A team to end the killing game!”

Sachiko narrowed her eyes, irritated. “You’re treating this too much like some kids show.” She turned away, heading for the door. “Still not joining.”

“Me neither.” Rikona followed her out. “You peasants do what you want.”

Miko turned hopefully to Ayano. “What about you, Ayano? Have you changed your mind?”

She narrowed her eyes. “...Uuuuh...No, I haven’t. Ending the killing game seems tiring.”

“That’s _it!?_” Kokoro exclaimed, dumbfounded at the girl’s reasoning.

Ayano tilted her head. “How do you expect to end the killing game, then?”

“...Um...” Kokoro thought. “...I don’t...Actually know.” She ended with a confident smile. “But we’re gonna! Trust me!”

“And that,” Ayano said bluntly, also heading for the door. “Is the other reason.”

Kokoro’s face fell a little. “Wait, what do you-”

But Ayano was out the door before she could answer the question.

“...Huh.”

“Right,” Saiko said. “So all in favour of splitting?”

Everyone seemed to agree.

“Alright, I’ll go find Kaoru.” Rantaro said, turning to the door. “Hopefully he’s alright-”

He was stopped by someone grabbing his wrist.

Nobody else seemed to notice, as everyone else filed out of the room, leaving Rantaro alone with the person who stopped him.

It didn’t take long for them to reveal themselves.

“You reckon someone’s gonna die?” Jasper asked.

“What!?” Rantaro turned around, irritated. “Jasper, why would you say that!?”

“We have an actual motive now.” He continued. “Going by what happened to Kaoru, I doubt it’ll be too long until someone eventually breaks.”

“And what makes you say that now?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, just a hunch.”

Rantaro pulled his hand out of Jasper’s grip. “Nobody’s going to die.”

The glow to Jasper’s eyes returned. “_You sure about that?_”

Rantaro flinched back, before regaining his composure. “Of course I’m sure.”

Jasper raised his eyebrows in apparent surprise.

“...Oh.”

“‘Oh’? Is that all you have to say?”

He shrugged. “I just thought you’d have started seeing things as they are, Ran-Ran.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?...Also, ‘Ran-Ran’?”

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “It’s called a nickname. Heard of them?”

“Of course I have! But what do you mean, ‘seeing things as they are’?”

Jasper smirked and chuckled to himself. “I can’t reveal all my secrets now. _That would just make the conclusion less satisfying, wouldn’t it?_”

Rantaro narrowed his eyes, confused. “...What are you talking about?”

Jasper ignored the question. “Don’t you need to talk to Kaoru or something?”

“Well yeah but-”

Jasper gestured to the door. “Then go. I shouldn’t really be keeping you.”

Rantaro gave him a confused, yet suspicious glare.

Jasper simply smiled back. “Go on.”

Rantaro sighed and relented, heading for the door.

Jasper...Was certainly something else.

He wanted to trust him – in scenarios like this, you need to have people on your side – but something inside was screaming for him to stay away from the enigmatic boy at all costs.

Did it have something to do with his talent?

Was it something else?

_...Jasper...Just who ARE you?_

Rantaro eventually decided there wasn’t much point in trying to understand it much more and started to head to Kaoru’s lab.

The door to his lab was half open.

_Must be inside..._Rantaro thought, before gently knocking on the door.

“Kaoru, you in there?”

No reply.

But after focusing to listen closely, he could hear the sound of quiet, yet stifled sobs from inside.

_Bingo._

He gently pushed the door open.

Kaoru was curled up in a ball on the office chair, sobbing.

Rantaro’s big brother instincts immediately kicked in and he darted over to the chair.

“Whoa, hey!” He put an affectionate hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Are you doing okay?”

Kaoru jolted at the touch. “A-aah-! When did you get here!?”

“I just came in.” Rantaro gently rubbed his hand against his shoulder. “Calm down, alright?”

Kaoru uneasily shifted into a sitting position and shook his head. “...I can’t...”

It was at this point that Rantaro noticed that he was holding his now heavily tear-stained slip of paper in his hand.

“M-Monokuma’s...Note said...” He choked out. “...T-the note said...That the lives of all my patients would be at stake...”

Rantaro flinched back in horror as he realised.

_Of course._

_Kaoru’s a paediatrician._

_He looks after **children.**_

Seemingly recounting this alone caused the boy to start crying again.

“H-hey, calm down!” Rantaro attempted to reassure him.

“I CAN’T calm down! Do you understand what this means!?”

Rantaro grimaced. “Of course I understand...It really is horrible for Monokuma to do that. But we can’t know if he’s able to do something like that, do we? For all we know, these are just slips of paper.”

Kaoru shakily looked off the side, before taking off his glasses briefly to wipe all the teardrops off of them.

“...I don’t know...” He said shakily. “...I’m scared...”

“I am too. We all are.”

The two sat in an uneasy silence.

“...Do you need anything to drink?” Rantaro suggested. “Coffee or something?”

It took a while for Kaoru to reply, but he eventually nodded. “...O-okay.”

Rantaro was relieved that Kaoru said yes, as it gave him a chance to take his mind off the motive.

“Alright. What do you take?”

“J-just cream and sugar...”

“Okay. I might run into the others on the way, so I might be a while. You good with that?”

Kaoru shakily nodded. “Mmhm...That’s fine...”

Rantaro nodded. “Good. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Just as Rantaro predicted, he did end up getting distracted on the way to the kitchen.

“Hey, Rantaro!” Yuuma’s voice called him. “Check this out!”

Rantaro walked over. “Can you try to make it quick? I need to do something.”

“It’ll only take a few minutes.” He reassured. “How’s Kaoru doing by the way?”

“Not too good. His motive hit especially hard.”

Yuuma grimaced. “Yeesh...”

“So what is it?” Rantaro asked.

“Oh, yeah. I found something and figured you’d be interested.”

Yuuma took out what looked like a couple of coins from his pocket and showed them to him.

Rantaro took one in his hand, inspecting it closely. It seemed to be made out of some bronze-like material, and the symbol on both sides was a decal of Monokuma’s head, matching exactly with the decal on the signs he saw on both the vending machines in the dining hall and the gachapon machine in the rec room.

“Where did you find these?” He asked, handing it back to him.

“In the rec room.” Yuuma explained. “I thought I saw something shiny under the couch.”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow skeptically. “...And you immediately went for it?”

“I like collecting shiny things! Don’t judge me!”

_Well he IS the Ultimate Jeweller, so that checks out._

“But yeah,” He continued. “I found these. Any idea if they’re worth something?”

“I don’t-”

“Why of COURSE they’re worth something!” Monokuma chimed, popping up behind him.

Yuuma raised an eyebrow. “...Huh. So it isn’t just a Beetlejuice scenario.”

Rantaro rolled his eyes. “Monokuma, this is literally the last thing I need right now...”

Monokuma gave him a deadpan look. “Do you wanna know what the coins are or not.”

“I do!” Yuuma replied.

_I guess I have no choice…_

“Why these,” Monokuma said. “Are my very own Monokuma-brand **Monocoins**!”

“Okay, do you put ‘Mono’ in front of _everything_ you make or-”

“Wait,” Rantaro asked. “So are these what the machines take? As in the vending machines and that game thing in the rec room?”

“Exactamundo!” Monokuma confirmed.

“Why couldn’t you just let us use regular money?”

“Didn’t want to. Needed more stuff I could brand.”

Rantaro brought his hand to his head, annoyed. “Ugh...”

“Right, so how do we get them?” Yuuma asked, putting his Monocoins back in his pocket. “‘Cause I kinda just found mine lying around.”

“Yes! There are Monocoins waiting to be found all over the academy!” Monokuma explained. “And I replenish the stocks each day! And also each surviving student gets them after each trial!”

“That’s if we have a trial.” Rantaro said bluntly. “Which we’re not going to.”

“Jeez, ever the funkiller. Oh well, I’ve done what I needed. So long! Upupu!”

Monokuma vanished, leaving Rantaro alone with Yuuma.

“...Huh. At least I know what these coins do now.” Yuuma noted.

“Well that was certainly enlightening, but I need to go.” Rantaro said, already starting to head. “Sorry I didn’t stay for long, but Kaoru kinda sent me on an errand and I need to hurry.”

“Makes sense.” He waved him off. “See you soon!”

Rantaro eventually arrived at the kitchen. He made a start by filling the kettle with water and setting it to boil, before getting two cups out – one for Kaoru and one for himself – and adding the coffee and sugar to them.

“That was awfully quick.” Saiko said from behind him, evidently having arrived not longer after he had.

“Not really,” Rantaro replied. “I offered to get him some coffee.”

“Makes sense. How’s he doing?”

Rantaro shook his head. “Not good. His motive was especially bad.”

“Damn...” Saiko sighed. “Monokuma sure wants us to do this, huh?”

“We’re not going to. Also,” He started to ask. “You also looked pretty upset by your motive. What was it?”

Saiko stiffened, before looking off to the side. “...It’s private.”

“That’s fine.” Rantaro replied. “It just seemed to hit you pretty hard, is all.”

Saiko balled his fists a little. “...Certainly...”

Rantaro was just about to ask if Saiko was okay – the motive did certainly seem to affect him too – when he was alerted that the water had finished boiling.

“O-oh, right.” He turned around and poured the water in both cups, before adding cream and giving the two of them a stir and taking both cups in his hands. “Sorry, I have to go back to Kaoru before these get cold.”

Saiko nodded in understanding. “Cool. We’re meeting up again tomorrow, remember?”

Rantaro nodded back. “Got it.”

Kaoru took a sip of his coffee. “...T-thanks...”

“No problem.” Rantaro replied. He had gotten on the cube chair again and had his own cup in his hand. (similar to the tea he had that morning, the coffee wasn’t too bad either.)

“I-I’m sorry for troubling you about all this...” Kaoru said shakily. “You have your own motive to deal with, I shouldn’t be bugging you with mine...”

“Hey, it was my choice to help you. I was worried when you ran off like that.”

He looked down. “I had to...I couldn’t stay in there for any longer after reading that...”

“I get that. That kind of thing is really overwhelming to just be told like that, isn’t it?”

Kaoru nodded in agreement. “I don’t know how I’ll be able to deal with this...With all of my patients at stake...How am I supposed to stay here and just take it!? I have to get out of here!”

“Whoa, whoa! Kaoru, you can’t kill anyone!”

“I-I know that! I wouldn’t be able to kill someone, anyway! But I can’t stay here…!” He looked like he was on the brink of tears again. “What am I supposed to do!?”

“Kaoru, calm down! Just...Take another drink, alright?”

Still shaking, he took another sip of his coffee. This seemed to help with the nerves a little.

“...I-I’m sorry,” He stuttered. “I just don’t know what I’m meant to do now...”

Rantaro shook his head, setting his cup down beside him. “I don’t know what I’m meant to do, either...”

Then he realised something.

He sighed.

“...Kokoro, how long have you been standing there?”

Kokoro, who had been standing at the door for a while, jumped back in alarm.

“Gah! I’m sorry, I also got worried and I had no idea how to enter the conversation!”

“It’s fine,” Kaoru replied, taking another longer sip of his coffee before continuing. “It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have worried you.”

“W- don’t be ridiculous! It’s not your fault! I was just worried when you ran off like that!”

Kaoru looked down uncomfortably. “I just couldn’t bear to be in there after reading that...”

“Oh,” Kokoro realised. “Your motive, right?”

Kaoru nodded. “...Mine said that...The lives of all my patients would be at stake...”

Kokoro took a step back in horror. “_What!?”_

“I thought the same thing,” Rantaro seconded. “The fact that Monokuma is willing to do something like that just to get us to play his game is just...”

“...Despicable...” Kokoro finished his sentence.

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah, exactly.”

Kaoru sighed and set his cup down. “...I just was really scared after seeing that…But even still, I shouldn’t have run off...I’m so-”

Rantaro stopped him. “No. You don’t need to apologise.”

“Huh? But I-”

“You were scared, I get it. Sure, you got us worried, but there’s no need to apologise for that. You don’t have to apologise for being scared. Got it?”

Kaoru didn’t say anything.

His eyes suddenly watered again for a few seconds like he was gonna start crying again, but then he pulled Rantaro into a sudden hug.

Rantaro was taken aback by the gesture, but gently hugged him back.

“Easy, easy.” He said reassuringly, as the boy sobbed into his chest. “It’s gonna be okay.”

After a while, Kaoru eventually pulled out of the hug.

“You feeling better now?” Rantaro asked.

Kaoru’s eyes still looked watery, but he rubbed the remainder of his tears away with a slight smile.

“...Thank you.”

Rantaro nodded, giving him a reassuring smile, before collecting the two cups. “I’ll just wash these and put them back. I’ll come back after, okay?”

Kaoru shook his head. “I don’t know, it’s starting to get late...”

“What?” Kokoro asked, surprised. “Already!?”

“...Huh. Today seems to have gone by quickly.” Rantaro noted. He shrugged. “Oh well. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”

Kaoru nodded. “Yeah...”

“Just don’t get all worked up about the motive.”

“Yeah,” Kokoro agreed. “We’re all gonna get out of here together!”

“Are we?” Kaoru asked.

Rantaro shrugged. “Hopefully.” Him and Kokoro turned and headed to the door. “See you tomorrow, right?”

Kaoru nodded, waving the two of them goodbye. “Yeah, see you tomorrow!”

After the two of them left Kaoru’s lab, they headed to the kitchen, where Rantaro made quick work of washing and drying the two cups.

“He’s a nice guy,” Kokoro noted. “It’s a shame his motive was so awful like that.”

“Yeah,” Rantaro agreed, putting the first of the two cups away. “I mean sure, we don’t know if Monokuma can pull something like that off, but just saying that on it’s own is...Unspeakable, isn’t it?”

“Very much agreed. Hey, actually,” She started to ask. “What did _you_ get for your motive?”

Rantaro froze.

_...Fuck._

“...Uh...Rantaro?” Kokoro asked, concerned. “You okay?”

“Oh. Well, uh,” Rantaro snapped back to reality and put the other cup back. “It’s...Private.”

“...Oh. Sorry, did I touch a nerve or something?”

_Yes. You very much did._

Before he could say anything out loud, Monokuma’s chime echoed out of the speakers and the bear himself appeared on the screen. He was sitting at a desk in some sort of office with a glass of wine in his hand.

“This is a school announcement. It is now 10pm, which means it is officially nighttime! Upupu...See you tomorrow!”

Rantaro clenched his fist, annoyed at the bear. “I still can’t believe he’d do something like this...”

“What, the nighttime announcement- Oh.” Kokoro started, before realising. “The motive.”

“Not just that,” He continued. “This whole ‘killing game’ in general. I don’t know if he’s doing all this himself or there’s someone controlling him, but this is-!” He cut himself off before he got too heated and sighed.

“Hey,” Kokoro put her hand on his arm. “Don’t worry. We’re gonna get out of here.”

Rantaro wanted to believe her. But…

Before dwelling on this any longer, he nodded.

Kokoro nodded back, heading up to her dorm. “We’ll meet up here tomorrow, right?”

“Right. See you tomorrow.”

DING-DONG-DONG-DING!

“Goooood morning, students! It is now 8am, which means it’s time to rise and shine! So get up and seize the day! Upupu!”

If the speaker blaring the morning announcement was in his room, Rantaro would’ve thrown one of his pillows at it.

Alas, it wasn’t.

He reluctantly pulled himself out of bed, before taking notice of the slip of paper lying on the table next to his bed.

His motive. He must have put it there last night before going to sleep.

Rantaro was sick of seeing any more reminders of how much of a useless big brother he was, so he tore the slip in half and threw it in a nearby wastepaper bin before heading out of the door.

It didn’t take long before Kokoro popped up beside him as he was walking through the hall.

“Gooooood morning!” She chimed.

Rantaro sighed and adjusted a stray strand of his hair. “About as good as it can be.” He pointed out a nearby speaker as the two of them walked past it. “I’m glad I somehow slept through that thing yesterday.”

“Ugh, yeah. Annoying isn’t it? Who does that bear think he is, saying when we can wake up like that!?”

Rantaro couldn’t help but laugh a little at her remark. “Yeah, he truly is evil, huh?”

The two of them eventually arrived at the dining hall, where Haruto, Yuuma, Ahmya and Miko had beaten them.

“Hey there!” Haruto greeted. “Good to see familiar faces, huh?”

“We’ve been around each other for at least two days now,” Rantaro replied. “I think all of us constitute as familiar faces.”

Yuuma stuck his tongue out. “Aw, boo. Anyway,” He gestured to the counter he was standing next to (with the assistance of a stool). “I’m making coffee. Would you two like some?”

Kokoro shrugged. “If you’re offering!”

Yuuma raised an eyebrow. “I just did.”

“...Oh.”

As the two of them made their way over to the table they were at, Rantaro couldn’t help but notice someone else near the back of the room.

“Sachiko?”

Sachiko had walked over near to where the vending machines were, and stopped when Rantaro addressed her. “What?”

“What, you change your mind or something?” Kokoro asked.

“Already asked her.” Ahmya replied. “She hasn’t.”

“I want to see how you all think we can get out of this.” Sachiko said bluntly. “...Also I want something to drink.”

She strode over to the drinks machine, pulled out a Monocoin from her pocket and rolled it into the coin slot.

“You find some of those things too?” Yuuma asked.

“They were lying around and as soon as I picked ‘em up, that bastard bear showed up and said some annoying speech.” She explained as she beeped a number into the pin pad. “Just glad I can use this thing now.”

What looked like some kind of cherry soda rolled out of the machine. Sachiko picked it up, twisted it open and took a long sip from it.

“Ah...” She exhaled. “I needed that.”

“So you’re just going to stand there and watch us?” Miko asked.

Sachiko raised an eyebrow. “Don’t have anything better to do, do I?”

“Touché.” Yuuma noted, before taking two cups of coffee from the countertop and walking over to the table. As he gave Rantaro and Kokoro their drinks, Saiko walked in through the door.

“Hey.” He said, sitting next to Rantaro. “Sleep well?”

“Mostly.” Rantaro replied. “I mean, we’re being threatened by a psychotic teddy bear and we’ve all been given a motive to kill, so how well do you expect me to?”

“Good point. I don’t think any of us have really been doing well since the announcement of the motive, huh?”

“Preaching with the choir on that.”

“Well then!” Haruto said, getting up. “It’s a good idea to get started.” He whipped out what looked like a clipboard and a pen.

“You made a _list?_” Sachiko snorted a laugh. “Nerd.”

“Every good team should have a register! And technically, Jasper made the list.”

“Oh yeah, speaking of Jasper,” Saiko asked. “Where the hell IS he-”

“Hey.”

Half of the group jumped out of their seats.

“How do you keep DOING that!?” Rantaro exclaimed as Jasper calmly made his way to the seat opposite him.

“I have my ways.” Jasper replied with a shrug.

“...Right...Anyway,” Haruto started. “I think we should begin with a cast roll cal.”

“Cast roll call?” Miko echoed.

Sachiko raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been spending too much time onstage. Can’t you just say ‘headcount’ like a normal person?”

“Ugh...” Haruto sighed. “So beginning with the cast roll call-”

Sachiko threw her now empty bottle directly at his head.

“Gah-!” He stumbled back. “Okay, okay! I get it! I’ll just do a headcount...”

“Good,” Ahmya noted. “I don’t want to say ‘here’ when you say my name or anything. It makes me feel like I’m back in class again.”

“Okay, so while he’s doing that,” Rantaro turned back to Jasper. “I feel like I don’t know much about you.”

Jasper tilted his head. “And that’s a bad thing why?”

“I never said it was, I’m just trying to break the ice here.”

He sighed. “Good point. So, what do you want to ask me?”

“Well,” Rantaro started. “Can you give me any hint to your tal-”

“No.”

“Ugh, fine...” He stopped to see if he could find anything to ask him about. “Well, you did say earlier that you went to multiple schools. What about that?”

“I just never stayed in one place for too long ever since a bit into highschool.” Jasper gave him a skeptical look. “What’s wrong with that?”

“I never said there was anything wrong with it. I’m just interested.” Rantaro continued. “So were your parents travellers or something?”

“No, why would they be?”

“...So you left home during highschool?”

“Yeah, why?”

“…...Why?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“I’m just curious, alright?” Rantaro said defensively. “I don’t know much about you and I’m trying to have a conversation here.”

Jasper laughed. “Oh please, we’re only on our second day here. I can’t tell you everything now.”

Rantaro narrowed his eyes on him, suspiciously. “...What do you mean, ‘only’?”

Kokoro popped up beside him. “Yeah, what do you mean, ‘only’?”

Jasper sighed, annoyed. “How long has your friend been here?”

“She arrived the same time as me.” Rantaro replied.

“I mean in this conversation.” He turned to Kokoro. “Shouldn’t you be talking to your artist friend or something?”

“Well,” Kokoro started awkwardly. “I would be, but-”

“...Huh. That’s odd.”

Everyone stopped talking and looked up to Haruto. He was tapping the end of his pen against his clipboard with a confused expression.

“Amai’s not here.”

“She’s not?” Ahmya asked. “You sure you haven’t just missed her?”

“Hey, I’ve done headcounts for casts of over 50! I wouldn’t have missed her!”

Confused, Rantaro quickly scanned the room to see if Haruto was right.

He was.

“Yeah, Haruto’s right.” He said. “Amai’s definitely not here.”

“Where is she?” Miko asked, concerned.

“Is it possible she overslept or something?” Yuuma asked.

“Maybe she forgot we were meeting up.” Saiko replied. “Wouldn’t be surprised, honestly.”

“Hey!” Kokoro snapped.

“I’m kidding. But it’s possible.”

“So what,” Haruto asked. “Are we gonna look for her or something?”

“We could,” Jasper mused. “It might be a good idea to split up.”

“Split up?” Rantaro asked, before realising. “...You’re _seriously_ not suggesting that-!?”

“I’m not.” Jasper cut him off. “I’m just saying it might be better so we can cover more ground.”

“Why would we need to cover more ground if she just overslept?” Saiko asked.

“She could’ve forgotten and is somewhere else in the academy.” Jasper explained. “So if we split up to find her, then we would be able to do it without wasting much time.”

“The man’s got a point.” Yuuma replied.

“Okay,” Jasper said, deciding to take charge. “Ahmya and Saiko can go check her dorm to see if she’s overslept. Haruto, Miko and Yuuma can take upstairs, while me, Rantaro and Kokoro can take downstairs.”

“I don’t think we need a full-blown military operation for this...” Kokoro started.

“Who said it was? Also,” Jasper spun around and pointed to Sachiko. “You’re coming with us.”

Sachiko narrowed her eyes. “...What?”

“You heard me. You’re coming with us.”

“Why the fuck would I come with you?”

Jasper gave her a glare. “Did it sound like I was asking?”

Sachiko groaned. “UGH...Not like I have anything better to do, anyway...”

“Alright, good. We all in agreement?”

Nobody seemed to argue.

Rantaro clenched his fist uneasily.

_Why is Jasper acting like this? Amai probably just overslept or forgot or something, so why…?_

_...Does he actually think that she’s-_

“Hey. Ran-Ran. Quit internally monologuing and listen up.”

Rantaro stopped, noticing that Jasper was waving his hand in front of his face. The other two groups he had assigned had already left, leaving the two of them, Kokoro and Sachiko in the dining hall.

“Huh?”

“If you were listening,” Jasper continued. “I was saying that I had an idea.”

“You do?” Rantaro asked skeptically.

Jasper smirked. “Of course I do. Come on.”

The four of them ended up at the door of the stage room.

“...Okay,” Sachiko asked. “Why the fuck do you think Amai’s here?”

“It’s possible she just assumed Monokuma had something to say.” Jasper explained. “I mean, he summoned us all here both yesterday and the day before, remember?”

“Hmm, I dunno,” Kokoro hummed. “I don’t think she’s here.”

Jasper shrugged. “Doesn’t hurt to check, does it?”

“Okay Jasper, all due respect,” Rantaro said. “This is a pretty strange place she’d be.”

“It’s possible. Like I said, she probably just assumed Monokuma would have another announcement and is waiting for him to show up.”

Rantaro sighed.

“...Alright, I guess it can’t hurt to check…”

“Wait,” Sachiko argued. “You’re going ALONG with this shit!?”

“Jasper might be right.” Rantaro replied, making his way to the door. “And besides, it’ll hopefully be quick.”

Sachiko sighed. “Well if she isn’t in there, don’t say I didn’t fuckin’ tell you.”

Rantaro opened the door.

As expected, the stage room was empty. Monokuma’s podium wasn’t even set up.

“See?” Sachiko said. “I fucking TOLD YOU-”

BANG.

Everyone froze.

Jasper raised his eyebrows. “...Huh.”

“Okay, what the heck was THAT!?” Kokoro asked.

As if on cue, the same metallic bang sounded from where the stage was.

“It sounded like something hitting against some kind of metal...” Rantaro noted, pointing at the stage. “There. We should check it out.”

The others seemed to agree, and the four of them started to make their way over to the stage.

Everything that followed seemed to happen in slow motion.

The brittle snap of a rope breaking.

A bloodcurdling scream.

A sickening thud as something crashed _hard _onto the stage.

Silence.

A pool of blood was now forming on the stage.

Finally, someone said something.

“...Oh.”

Jasper’s muted reaction sounded less concerned and more that he was simply caught off-guard.

“W-what...What the fuck IS this!?” Sachiko exclaimed.

Kokoro put her hand to her mouth in horror. “...O-oh no…!”

Rantaro didn’t- no, couldn’t say anything.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

The body on the stage had been partially tied up at the torso, the right arm being loose. Both arms had deep cuts across them, both spilling blood and contributing to the growing pool on the stage. One of the legs had been slightly twisted, likely broken by the impact. The body’s eyes were wide and mouth was open in a permanent mask of fear.

Rantaro didn’t want to believe this.

But...The reality he wanted to prevent was staring him right in the face.

Kaoru Odayaka, the Ultimate Paediatrician, was lying dead on the stage floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm evil. I know.
> 
> Here we are! The first death of Despair From the Heart!  
So far nobody guessed who the victim would be. Bet you didn't expect the precious cinnamon bun to die first, huh~?  
As for his killer, who do YOU think it'll be?  
Anyway, thank you for reading until the end! <3  
Please feel free to comment! (...Or...Angrily scream at me. Either-or.)


	8. Game: Start!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything has suddenly come crashing down.  
Both figuratively, and very literally.  
Everyone now has a murder case to deal with, but Monokuma lends an unlikely helping hand.  
But with two mysteries at hand, will this be too much to bear?

“...Kaoru...”

Rantaro couldn’t believe this. No, he didn’t _want_ to believe this.

But with the dead body staring him right in the face, he couldn’t deny it.

Kaoru had been murdered.

Kaoru, who didn’t want to hurt _anyone_, had been murdered in cold blood.

Before he knew it, tears were beading in the corners of his eyes.

_...Why?_

_Out of everyone here, why did it have to be him?_

_He was so kind, polite and helpful to everyone...He didn’t want to hurt anyone! He’s a paediatrician, for fuck’s sake! He just wanted to help us!_

_Why the hell did he have to die!?_

“A body has been discovered! Everyone, please head to the stage room at once!”

Rantaro could barely register the announcement blaring on the speaker outside, nor could he register the entrance doors behind them flying open as everyone else ran in.

“KYAAAAAAAAH!” He heard Rikona scream.

“K-Kaoru!?” Haruto stuttered in a panic. “T...This is…!”

“W-we can’t just stand here!” Yuuma said frantically. “Someone, check for a pulse or something!”

“With the state his body’s in...” Ayano sighed and shook her head.

Rantaro didn’t listen, darting up to the stage anyway. He gently lifted up the wrist of Kaoru’s free hand and held two fingers against it to check for any signs of life. He didn’t _care_ what that announcement said, he needed PROOF, he-

...Nothing.

Gritting his teeth, Rantaro shook his head.

“...H-he’s...Gone...”

“He’s _what!?”_ Saiko exclaimed.

“That can only mean that he’s...” Ahmya said breathlessly.

Miko took a step back, putting his hand over his mouth in horror. “N-no...This can’t be happening!”

Rikona pointed a shaking finger at Rantaro, Jasper, Sachiko and Kokoro. “You peasants were here first! Explain this, NOW!”

“W-we don’t know what happened!” Kokoro stuttered. “He fell from up there when we came in! We have no idea how he got there!”

“You’re _lying!_ You killed him, didn’t you!?”

“She’s not lying, we all saw the same thing!” Sachiko countered.

As the three of them kept arguing, Rantaro looked back down at Kaoru’s body.

Despite now having checked his pulse and the scent of the blood splattered all over the stage overwhelming him, he still didn’t want to believe that he was dead.

But there was no denying it anymore.

“Wait.”

Everyone suddenly stopped talking when Jasper spoke up.

“We’re still a man down.”

“What!? What do you mean, we’re still a man down!?” Yuuma argued.

“I mean we’re still a man down.” Jasper continued, way too casually for someone who just saw someone apparently fall to their death. “Look around.”

Rantaro stopped.

Just as soon as he realised what Jasper was saying, the others apparently reached the same conclusion.

“A-Amai’s still not here!” Kokoro said in a panic.

“Where the fuck is she!?” Sachiko looked around angrily. “She should’ve heard that fuckin’ thing blaring outside!”

“Eh?” Ayano tilted her head. “‘Still’?”

“She didn’t show up at our meeting this morning,” Kokoro explained. “So we split up to find her, but almost as soon as we got in here-” She turned over as if to gesture to Kaoru’s body, but stumbled back and put her hand over her mouth, not wanting to look at the body any longer. “O-oh god, I think I’m gonna be sick…!”

“So where the hell IS she!? We all heard the announcement so she should’ve shown up by now!” Rikona snapped.

“What if she was somewhere where she _couldn’t_ hear the announcement?” Miko suggested.

“I doubt that.” Yuuma answered. “Even if you’re in a room without a speaker, those things are really loud. So you’d know what was going on either way.”

“Who _cares_ where Amai is?” Tsumugi hissed from the back of the room. “The fact that she couldn’t be bothered to show up isn’t exactly important right now.”

“Uh, it kinda is!” Kokoro argued.

“Compared to what just happened, it really isn’t. Speaking of,” She nodded in the general direction of Kaoru’s body with a smirk. “Told you he’d be the first to go.”

Rantaro leapt off the stage and turned to her. “Shut the fuck up, Shirogane. Kaoru’s DEAD, at least have some respect for him.”

Tsumugi tutted, annoyed. “Are we seriously doing this again, Amami?”

“Don’t exactly want to, but we will if we have to.”

“Fuck you.”

“Fuck you too.”

“Guys, can we not do this right now?” Jasper asked.

Rantaro was just about to say that he didn’t exactly want to be arguing with Tsumugi either when he heard a small chime.

In fact, multiple of them.

They all seemed to be coming from everyone’s Monopad-Minis.

Perplexed, Rantaro took his out to find a flashing notification taking up the entire screen.

“_Monokuma File delivered!” _it said, in large flashing text.

“‘Monokuma File’?” Rantaro read. “What’s this supposed to mean?”

“Allow me to show you!” The bear’s voice chanted from behind him, prompting everyone to turn and face the stage again.

Monokuma bounced up in front of them, waving his arms with a flourish.

“Dum-da-da-daaaaaaa~!” He said excitedly, like a magician proudly finishing a new trick. “The killing game has finally officially begun!”

“Begun?” Kokoro echoed. “Wait, you mean-!?”

“That’s right! Your friend was _murdered!_ By one of YOOOOU!” He swept a pointed finger across his crowd.

“Wait, so you’re saying that one of us is responsible for Kaoru’s death?” Miko asked nervously.

“Of course! Why would there be a body otherwise?” Monokuma turned to address Kaoru’s body, putting on a fake sad voice. “Such a shame he was the one to go...He was really cute!” Cartoonish tears flowed from his eyes. “Waaaaaah! So saaaaaaad!”

“Quit the fake tears Monokuma,” Rantaro said bluntly. “You still owe us an explanation.”

The tears were immediately sucked back into Monokuma’s eyes. “Aw, boo! You’re no fun, Rantaro. Anyway-”

He suddenly stopped, narrowing his eyes and quickly scanning the crowd.

“Hmmm...” He put one of his hands to his chin. “It seems that someone didn’t want to attend.”

“Oh yeah, Amai’s still not here.” Jasper said.

“Tell us where she is!” Kokoro snapped.

“Why would I do that?” Monokuma asked.

Kokoro took a step back. “Huh?”

“Look, the artist’s absence may be a part of the killer’s plan. So saying where she is will ruin the surprise! And besides, she could also be the killer herself and is too guilty to face her crime scene! Upupu!”

“Shut it! Amai’s not the killer!”

“Though if we’re being honest,” Ahmya mused. “The fact that she isn’t here is pretty suspicious, don’t you think?”

Kokoro didn’t say anything to that.

Rantaro sighed and turned to Monokuma. “You’re yet to explain what this Monokuma File is. The fact that you’re here probably means that you’ve come to tell us. So spit it out.”

“How perceptive!” Monokuma replied. “Well, you can’t exactly investigate this on your own, can you?”

“Investigate?” Rikona asked.

“You remember the rules, right?” Yuuma said. “The second one was that in the event of a murder, Monokuma will hold a class trial so we can find the killer. So I assume we need to investigate Kaoru’s...” He quickly glanced at Kaoru’s body and grimaced. “...Unfortunate demise...”

“You mean that I’M doing the grunt work!?” She snapped.

Yuuma shrugged. “If you insist on putting it like that, we’re _all_ doing the grunt work. So it’s only fair if you get off your high horse and help.”

Rikona groaned.

“Ugh...Anyway,” Monokuma continued. “As you guys put it, you’re all gonna do a murder investigation! But since I doubt you guys have much experience in this field, I was kind enough to give my students a helping hand!”

“Is that what this Monokuma File is?” Rantaro asked. “Your…‘Helping hand’?”

“Of course! It contains the details on your friend’s death, including the cause and any other injuries sustained!”

“Ah.” Jasper noted. “So it’s an autopsy report.”

“Essentially.” Monokuma shrugged. “Unless we had an Ultimate Mortician on our hands, I doubt you woulda been able to figure this stuff out yourself.” He quickly gave a Jasper questioning look. “Unleeeeeess…?”

Jasper shook his head. “Not even close.”

“Darn. Anyway, it’s high time you guys get cracking! There’s not much time until the trial, you see. So get as much evidence as you can!” He exited with a cheery salute. “Upupu! So long, bear well!”

Partially glad of Monokuma’s absence, Rantaro turned his attention back to his Monopad-Mini.

The notification was still flashing, likely prompting him to tap the screen. So he did.

This gave way to another screen with a scroll bar. A small silhouette of Kaoru’s body was in the lower-left corner with his injuries – the cuts across his arms and a number of bruises as well as the broken leg, likely as a result of his fall – detailed in pink. The most notable – and insensitive – aspect of this screen was an image of Kaoru’s body on the stage, with the blood pooling around it.

The text on the screen read:

“The victim is Kaoru Odayaka, the Ultimate Paediatrician.

His body was discovered on the stage of the stage room.

The cause of death was force of impact.

He had also sustained a number of cuts across both his arms, and had also been injected with anaesthetic prior to his death.”

Just seeing this gave Rantaro chills. Sure, he wanted information in order to find whoever had done this, but wasn’t this a bit _too _much?

Besides, how did Monokuma even _know_ all this?

He decided he didn’t want to know.

The others around him also seemed to have a similar reaction to the Monokuma File.

“Mother of god...” Saiko said, reading over the file’s contents.

Rantaro nodded solemnly. “It’s a start, at least. Soon we’ll be able to find the bastard that did this.”

Saiko nodded in agreement. “Right.” He put his hand on Rantaro’s shoulder and gave him a confident smile. “You got this.”

Hearing Saiko’s words of encouragement seemed to give him a confidence boost.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“It might be a good idea to split,” Haruto suggested. “There’s...Kinda a lot to cover here.”

Kokoro nodded. “Yeah. I mean, we have the body to deal with, and Amai’s still missing.”

“Not to mention, that since this is a murder case,” Ayano added. “We will need to go over everyone’s alibis.”

“Yeah. If anyone’s alibi seems fishy, we might be able to get something from it.”

“Precisely.”

“You’re thinking pretty straightforwardly about this, Ayano.” Miko noted.

“In scenarios like this, a logical approach is key.” Ayano explained. “As the Ultimate Physicist, this is my expertise.”

“Right. So, I’ll take in here.” Rantaro said. “Anyone want to help?”

“I will!” Kokoro replied.

“Same here.” Saiko agreed.

“I’ll try to find Amai.” Jasper suggested, nodding to Miko. “Miko, you’re with me.”

Miko nodded back. “Right.”

“I’ll come too.” Yuuma said.

“Should the rest of us deal with alibis?” Ahmya asked. “And in general try to prepare for whatever the trial will bring?”

“Good call.” Haruto replied. “I think that’s everyone.”

Rantaro nodded. “Good. Everyone, break.”

Everyone agreed and split up, leaving Rantaro, Saiko and Kokoro in the stage room with Kaoru’s body.

Rantaro grimaced as he started up onto the stage. _Looks like here is the best place to start…_

He walked over to Kaoru’s body as Kokoro and Saiko followed after him.

Kaoru’s body wasn’t in a good state. As well as the broken leg and the cuts across his arms, he was also bound with rope, the end of it being particularly frayed, with his right arm being free.

Rantaro sighed and knelt down, before quickly moving Kaoru’s glasses – which had a small crack in them, likely because of the fall – and gently closing his eyes with his hand.

“I’m sorry, Kaoru...” Rantaro said, as he carefully put the body’s glasses back on. “I will find who did this to you. I promise.”

As he put the glasses back, Rantaro noticed a small dot the size of a pinprick on the side of Kaoru’s neck.

Kokoro seemed to notice this too. “Huh? What’s that?”

Rantaro was just about to say that he didn’t know, before he remembered something that had been said in the Monokuma File.

“I think I know. The Monokuma file had said he was injected with anaesthetic before he died, right?” He pointed over to the mark on his neck. “That must be where the killer injected him.”

Kokoro shivered. “U-ugh...”

Rantaro was just about to get up when he noticed something else.

There was blood on the index finger of Kaoru’s free hand.

“Guys, look at this!” He said, pointing this out.

“Where did that come from?” Saiko asked.

“That’s his blood, no doubt.”

“Hm...You reckon he tried to write something with it?”

“Actually...” Kokoro said from behind them. She was kneeling down near the edge of the blood pool and looking at something on the ground. “I think he did!”

Rantaro and Saiko got up and walked over to where Kokoro was.

Whatever was there seemed to be obscured by the blood pool, but there was definitely an angular shape written or drawn in blood on the ground.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Saiko asked.

“It...Looks like an…E?” Kokoro said, trying to figure out what it meant. “Or...A really wide M?”

“Whatever it is,” Rantaro answered, pointing at the obscured message. “That blood pool is covering it.”

“That’s a bit of a nuisance,” Saiko sighed. “Could’ve been something important to the case.”

“I know...” Rantaro started to get up. “I think that’s everything regarding the body. For now, at least.”

“Yeah, I don’t exactly want to look at this anymore.”

“Preaching with the choir there.”

“Want me to take a quick look backstage?” Kokoro asked. “I’ll give you a shout if I see anything important.”

Rantaro gave her a nod, prompting Kokoro to head to the door backstage.

Rantaro forced his eyes shut, his fist shaking.

“I still can’t believe someone would do something like this...Especially to someone like Kaoru...” He said with a bit of a drive. “I’ll bring the bastard who did this to justice. I swear my life on it.”

Saiko started to reply, but before he could say anything, the two of them heard a squeal from backstage.

“What are you doing HERE!?” They heard Kokoro ask.

Saiko and Rantaro turned to each other.

Saiko pointed in the general direction of backstage. “You think that-?”

Rantaro nodded. “Sounds like it.”

The two of them headed through the door.

They weren’t exactly expecting what awaited them.

There was a large blue crash mat next to where the stage was. Sitting on it was a dazed-looking Amai, with a worried Kokoro next to her. She had also been tied up, but with both her arms free this time, with one hand rubbing against her head.

“Amai? What the hell are you doing back here!?” Rantaro asked.

“Eeh…?” Amai stirred. “More people are here now?”

“Did you not hear the announcement earlier!?” Saiko questioned.

Amai tilted her head, confused. “What announcement?”

Rantaro turned to Kokoro. “Kokoro, what happened here?”

“I found her passed out on the crash mat. I think she might have a concussion...” Kokoro explained, concerned. “Do either of you have anything that can cut this rope?”

“What, so you think we’re just walking around with knives on us!?” Saiko argued.

“There’s, uh...” Kokoro stopped to think. “There’s probably something here that caused those cuts, right? We could use that!”

“Cuts?” Amai asked. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, right...” Rantaro realised that she probably didn’t know about what just happened. “...Kaoru’s been murdered.”

Amai’s eyes widened. “...You’re kidding, right…!?”

“I’m not, unfortunately...We’re trying to investigate what happened. Speaking of which, how did you get here?”

Amai shook her head. “I don’t remember.” She grimaced, rubbing her head. “My head hurts...”

“Yeah, you’re probably right about it being a concussion.” Saiko noted.

“Is there anything here that can cut this rope?” Kokoro asked.

“Hold on,” Rantaro walked over. “Let me try untying it.”

He was able to find the knot pretty quickly. It was a pretty strong albeit simple knot, so he was easily able to untie her.

“Thanks for that...” Amai said gratefully as Kokoro helped her up.

Saiko decided to take her instead. “I should take her to get some painkillers. There should be some in the nurse’s office, right?”

Rantaro nodded. “Good idea. Kokoro and I will continue investigating in here.”

Saiko nodded back. “Good luck.”

He turned and left, helping Amai regain her footing as they walked out the door.

“How do you think she got here?” Kokoro asked.

“I’m not sure...” Rantaro thought. “She was probably unconscious when the announcement went off. That would explain why she didn’t hear it.”

“I dunno,” Kokoro looked towards the crash mat. “The fact that she was lying on this crash mat was pretty weird...”

Rantaro nodded. “Certainly.”

He noticed something at the back of the room and walked over to take a closer look.

Hidden nearby some wooden crates were a small bloody kitchen knife and a syringe.

“What…?” Rantaro picked up the syringe to get a closer look.

He tilted it from side to side, and the remainder of the liquid inside sloshed about.

“A syringe? Why would that be here?” Kokoro asked.

“Hm...” Rantaro thought, eyeing the syringe quizzically. “Well, Kaoru was injected with anaesthetic, right? This might be it.” He moved the syringe around again, causing what was inside to splash against the sides of the cylinder. “The killer evidently didn’t use all of it.”

“What about this?” Kokoro asked, pointing to the knife.

“That must be what caused those cuts.” Rantaro replied, putting the syringe back down. “The killer must’ve grabbed it from a kitchen drawer or something.”

“Uh-huh...” Kokoro turned around. “Look, someone must’ve went up there!”

“Huh?” Rantaro turned around, and noticed a ladder leading up to the stage’s lighting fixture.

He walked over to the ladder. “Let me see if there’s anything important up there.”

He climbed up the ladder and hopped on top of the lighting fixture.

“You see anything?” Kokoro asked from below.

“Well, there’s quite a lot of space up here.” Rantaro replied. “More than enough for me to stand, but I don’t see anything-”

His eyes drifted to over the front edge of the lighting fixture, and he nearly had a heart attack when he saw Kaoru’s body again. He nearly jumped back in surprise, before remembering how high up he was and making a skittery attempt to regain his footing.

“R-Rantaro!?” Kokoro called out, concerned.

“D-don’t worry.” Rantaro replied. “I just...Saw Kaoru’s body again. It just startled me, that’s all.”

“You saw the body again?”

“The edge must go over the front of the stage.”

“Makes sense, since they hang the lights there.”

Rantaro started to climb down, before noticing something again.

The lighting fixture was made up of a number of metal crossbeams, and one of the spaces in the crosses had a number of rope fibres stuck to it.

“You see something?” Kokoro asked.

“There’s robe fibres stuck to some of the crossbeams making up the lighting fixture.” Rantaro explained.

“Huh. That’s...Odd.”

“I agree.” Rantaro said, climbing back down. “But it looks like that’s everything to see here.”

Kokoro nodded in agreement, and the two of them headed out from backstage and started to head to the main door.

“Should we see how Amai’s doing?” Kokoro asked. “I’m kinda worried about her...”

“Yeah, good call-” Rantaro started, then stopped as he nearly tripped over something next to the door.

He regained his footing and turned around to see what he nearly tripped over.

A sandbag.

“What on earth is this doing here?” Rantaro asked. There were a number of sandbags like these backstage, but he was perplexed as to how this one got here.

Not to mention, there was a bit of sand next to it and scattered nearby the door, evidently having spilled out of it.

“A sandbag with sand knocked out of it?” Kokoro asked. “Why would this be here?”

Rantaro shook his head. “No clue. And look,” He said, noticing something else nearby the door. “There’s a stack of crates piled up near the door.”

He walked over, noting that there was enough space for someone to hide, likely being the reason they were set up.

He also noticed something wet on the ground, next to shards of broken glass and the unmistakable needle and plunger of…

“ANOTHER syringe!?” Kokoro exclaimed, confused.

“Yeah, but this one’s completely shattered.” Rantaro replied. “Someone broke it.”

“Yeah, but why would there be another one!?” Kokoro questioned, pointing to the door backstage. “We already found one in there!”

Rantaro put his hand to his chin. “I have no clue...It seems there are more mysteries about this case than I anticipated...” He sighed. “But we have to keep pushing forward. We need to find whoever did this to Kaoru and bring them to justice.”

Kokoro nodded in agreement. “Right. We’ll be going to see Amai then?”

Rantaro nodded back. “Right.”

“Uuuugh...” Amai groaned. She was sitting on one of the beds in the nurse’s office, her head pain not having gone away.

Ayano was also there, apparently being the one tending to her. “Your friend must have been right about her getting a concussion. I don’t study in the medical field, but I can tell some things.”

“A concussion, huh?” Rantaro noted. “That probably explains why she doesn’t remember how she got there.”

“Likely. Sustaining a concussion can cause amnesia.”

“Amnesia?” Amai asked, still dazed.

“Memory loss.”

“Oh.”

“Speaking of which,” Kokoro asked. “Do you remember anything?”

“Mmmm...Kinda.”

“You do?” Rantaro asked.

“Well,” Amai started. “Someone invited me to go to the stage room like an hour before the morning announcement.” She fished something out of her hoodie pocket and handed it to him. “See? They slid this under my door last night.”

Rantaro took the note and read it.

“_We need to talk about the motive. Meet me in the stage room tomorrow morning at 7.”_

Rantaro looked up to her. “...This is kinda obviously a trap.”

“They said it was important!” Amai protested.

Rantaro sighed as he handed the note back to her.

_Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, I see…_

“Anyway,” She continued. “Almost as soon as I opened the door, something whacked me on the head and I passed out. Next thing I knew, you were shaking me awake and I was on that crash mat.”

“Something hit you on the head?” Kokoro asked.

“Hmm...” Ayano hummed. “That’s likely the cause of her concussion.”

“Yeah, but then how did you get from there to backstage?” Rantaro questioned.

“I don’t know! I can’t remember!” Amai argued. “I have insomnia, remember!?”

“Amnesia.” Ayano corrected.

“Same difference!”

“It’s really not.”

“How are alibis going?” Rantaro asked, changing the subject.

Ayano hummed thoughtfully. “Everyone at your meeting seems to have a solid alibi. Sachiko too, since she was watching you. Tsumugi, however, is refusing to tell anyone anything.”

Rantaro growled under his breath. “Makes sense...What about you? You and Rikona aren’t part of our team, so what were you doing?”

“As a matter of fact,” Ayano replied. “She had invited me to play a chess game at her lab.”

“Had she?”

“Yes. She asked me last night, but it was getting late, so we decided to do it in the morning. You can ask her if you want proof.”

“Right...”

“However,” Ayano continued. “Before your friend brought Amai to me, Rikona tell me that she noticed something that seemed odd.”

“What was it?” Rantaro asked.

“She woke me up when the morning announcement went off, you see.” She continued. “A number of people got up at a similar time. However, she did notice that Jasper didn’t seem to leave his room.”

Rantaro stopped. “...What?”

“Her dorm room is close to his, apparently.” Ayano explained. “And while the others were getting up and we were leaving, she particularly noticed that his door didn’t even open.”

“Did she notice anyone else?” Kokoro asked.

“It’s possible that others didn’t leave, but the only one she specifically took notice of was Jasper.”

“So either he stayed inside, or he had already left...” Rantaro mused thoughtfully. “...Hmm...”

“Is something up?” Kokoro asked.

Rantaro didn’t reply.

Over the past two days, it did seem like something was definitely up with Jasper.

Did...He have something to do with Kaoru’s murder?

Before he could say anything, the speaker outside chimed.

“Alright!” Monokuma’s voice said. “It’s time for the moment you’ve all been waiting for! It’s class trial time!”

_It’s time for the trial already!?_ Rantaro thought.

“Everyone,” He continued. “Please assemble at the main foyer of the academy building! There, you will be escorted to the glorious trial grounds, where you will finally be able to find out who murdered your friend! It’s time for the spotless against blackened, good against evil, hope against despair EXTRAVAGANZA! Upupupu…! I’ll be waiting!”

The speaker shut off.

Rantaro sighed. “I guess that’s our cue...”

“It’s time already!?” Amai exclaimed. “But barely anything has happened!”

“You likely feel that way since you were unconscious for most of the investigation.” Ayano explained.

“She does have a point, though.” Kokoro said. “We don’t exactly have much, and what we have found has only confused us...”

“Either way,” Rantaro said. “This is our chance. Whatever this class trial is, this is our chance to bring Kaoru’s murderer to justice.”

Kokoro and Ayano nodded in agreement. (Amai also seemed to agree, but she was too confused to show it.)

“Monokuma said to meet in the main foyer, right?” Kokoro asked. “Is the place where the trial is there?”

“If it is, it’s very well hidden.” Ayano answered.

“Either way.” Rantaro said. “We need to go there. Whatever Monokuma has in store for us, we need to expose the killer. You all with me?”

The three of them agreed. “Right.”

Rantaro nodded, and started to head to the door. “Let’s go.”

It didn’t take long for everyone to assemble at the academy’s main foyer. It was similar to the foyer of a hotel, with two staircases leading to the second floor. However, the large space where a painting or a main desk would be was left empty.

“Is this where the trial’s gonna be?” Kokoro asked.

“No, idiot.” Tsumugi hissed. “Monokuma said to assemble here and he’d take us there.”

“Well yeah, but how?” Yuuma asked. “There’s no doorway or anything.”

“Could be a hidden passage.” Ahmya suggested.

“A very well hidden passage.” Ayano added.

“But a passage nonetheless.”

“Either way, Monokuma said he’d take us there.” Jasper said, taking the helm of the discussion. “So where is he?”

Before anyone could say anything, the ground suddenly shook, taking everyone off guard.

The blank wall in front of them suddenly split open, revealing a large elevator cage behind it.

The elevator door slid open with a comical “ding”.

“An elevator!?” Kokoro exclaimed.

Jasper shrugged. “Guess Ahmya was right about a hidden passage.” He started to walk towards it. “Okay. Let’s go inside.”

“Are you crazy!?” Haruto argued. “That thing could be a trap!”

“Yeah!” Amai agreed. “The chain could break and drop us all to our deaths!”

“I...” Miko started. “...Wouldn’t exactly put that past Monokuma, honestly.”

“No, I doubt this is a trap.” Rantaro said. “Monokuma said he’d take us to where the trial would, right? And besides, we can’t back down here. This is our chance to find Kaoru’s murderer. And honestly, I want nothing more right now than to bring this bastard down. Are you all with me?”

Everyone seemed to agree, so each of them headed into the elevator.

The elevator had more than enough room for all of them, so they were all able to fit inside. The elevator closed with another ding as everyone got in and begun a slow descent downwards.

“You seem pretty confident to find Kaoru’s killer, Ran-Ran.” Jasper noted, leaning casually with his back against the wall.

Rantaro gave him a suspicious look. He was starting to be wary around Jasper already, but with this new information from Ayano…

Jasper suddenly gave him a confused look. “...Why are you looking at me like that?”

Rantaro sighed and looked away, not wanting Jasper to get into his head.

Thankfully, Kokoro appeared at his side.

“Don’t worry!” She said hopefully. “We’re gonna find the person responsible! Promise!”

Saiko appeared at his other side, putting a reassuring hand on Rantaro’s shoulder. “Yeah. You’ve got this, Rantaro.”

Rantaro nodded, glad that he had two friends at his side to find who the killer was.

“Let’s do this.”

With that, the elevator came to a screeching halt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S ALL KICKING OFF NOW GUYS  
The trial hopefully won't take too long!  
Until then, who do you think Kaoru's killer is?  
Anyway, thank you so much for reading until the end!  
(please leave comments!)


	9. The Game of Life and Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trial to find the killer begins. As everyone starts to unravel the mysteries of the case, it suddenly becomes apparent that this case is more twisted than they could have imagined...

Rantaro was not sure what he expected the trial room to look like when the elevator doors opened.

This certainly wasn’t it.

The room almost seemed technical and futuristic, with 14 steel podiums arranged in a circle in the centre of the room. The floor had been covered by a violet carpet and the walls were made of a sleek light-coloured chrome-esque material, with multiple beams acting as support pillars. A neon light stripe ran across the walls of the circular room, lit up a cyan blue. This fit the general indigo lighting of the room.

There was a steel throne with violet cushions – likely to match the aesthetic of the trial grounds – floating at the back of the room, which the previously absent Monokuma was reclining on.

“Welcome, everyone! Come one, come all!” He said cheerily as everyone left the elevator. “Welcome to Starlight Academy’s very own trial grounds!”

“Ah, so _this_ is where the trial will be?” Jasper noted.

“This is...Nothing like where a regular trial would be held.” Ayano pointed out, confused.

“That’s ‘cause this ISN’T a regular trial!” Monokuma replied. “This is a class trial!”

“Yeah, you...Haven’t exactly told us what that means yet.” Kokoro said, impatiently folding her arms.

“You’re an eager beaver, huh? I’ll explain the rules once you all take your places at the podiums in front of you!” He swept his arm over the podiums, all arranged in a circle. “They should have your names engraved on them somewhere, so they won’t be that hard to find.”

Everyone made their way to their respective podiums without too much argument.

Rantaro was reassured to notice that Saiko’s place was on his left, with Haruto on his right.

However, he also caught a glimpse of a portrait on a stand on the podium inbetween Miko and Yuuma. The portrait was of Kaoru, with two pink crossed-over band-aids illustrating an X over his face.

It didn’t take long for him to put together that that’s where Kaoru would have been standing if he were still alive.

He grimaced, looking down and clenching his fist in frustration.

Saiko noticed this, putting a supportive hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry. We’re gonna catch this guy.”

Rantaro looked back up to him, glad that Saiko was there to support him.

_At least I have someone I can trust on my side._

“Now then,” Monokuma began. “let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial! During the trial, you'll present your arguments for who the killer is, and vote for whodunnit. Vote correctly, and only the blackened will be punished. But if you pick the wrong one...I'll punish everyone BESIDES the blackened, and whoever deceived everyone will graduate!”

“And the killer really is one of us, right?” Kokoro asked.

“Of course! Why would I lie to you? This trial has to be 100% fair, after all.”

“So the person who killed Kaoru is right here...” Rantaro said with a grimace.

“Grrr…! I can’t bear being in the same room as a murderer!” Rikona growled.

“Hold on, before we begin,” Miko asked, turning to Monokuma. “You said that the killer will be punished if they get caught, right?”

Monokuma nodded. “Why, yes! Even bears like me operate on a justice system.”

Ahmya raised an eyebrow skeptically. “I highly doubt that.”

“Anyway,” Miko continued. “What exactly...IS this punishment?”

“Upupu!” Monokuma laughed. “That would be a spoiler, wouldn’t it? You won’t find out what the punishment for the blackened is until the end of the trial!” His jagged eye glowed menacingly, his teeth seemingly sharpening. “Just know that I spent a REEEEAAALLY long time preparing a super-special punishment for the blackened of this case!”

“Hold up,” Haruto started. “If you spent so much time preparing whatever this punishment is, then doesn’t that mean you know who Kaoru’s killer is?”

Monokuma shrugged. “‘Course I do. What’s the problem with that?”

“I think you can _SEE_ what the problem is with that, bastard!” Sachiko countered aggressively. “Tell us who the fucking killer is!”

“Why?”

“‘Cause it’ll save a lot of time?” Yuuma answered, very matter-of-factly. “Duh.”

“Yeah, that’s why I _can’t_ tell ya.” Monokuma replied casually. “If I told you who Kaoru’s killer was now, then there’d be no point in having a trial, right?”

“So...You’re purposely withholding information from us in a legal environment in order to facilitate your own benefit?” Ayano asked. “...I’m pretty sure that this is breaking multiple laws.”

“Yeah, sure, that would break laws in your world. But you’re in MY world now! Upupu!”

“Okay,” Rantaro said. “We’re only wasting time trying to reason with him. We need to get started.”

“Started how, though?” Saiko asked. “None of us here are lawyers or detectives.”

“And even then, we don't have much.” Tsumugi added, twirling the curl of her ponytail in her hand. “We have a guy who makes jewellery, a glorified theatre kid, I don't even KNOW what Jasper’s meant to be...And I haven't even MENTIONED Amami yet!” She shrugged. “In short, we're screwed.”

Rantaro sighed. “Permission to punch Shirogane in the face as soon as this trial is over?”

“PERMISSION DENIED.” Kokoro said swiftly. “Anyway, the best thing we can do for now is go through everything we have so far and see if we can put together anything new.”

“Ugh, that sounds haaaard...” Amai groaned.

“We're solving a murder. This is supposed to be hard.” Jasper replied bluntly.

“Either way, Kokoro has a point. We should go through what we have for now.” Ayano said.

“Alright, I’ll start.” Yuuma said with a nod. “Okay, so the Monokuma File says his cause of death was force of impact.”

“What does force of impact mean?” Amai asked with a confused look.

“It means he died from the resulting force of impact upon hitting the ground at a high speed.” Ayano replied.

Amai gave her an even more confused look.

“He died from a fall.”

“Oh.”

“That makes sense. We saw him fall from above the stage not long after we walked into the stage room.” Rantaro explained.

“He fell from above the stage?” Rikona asked. “Is there even anything there that he can fall off of?”

Rantaro nodded. “There is. There’s a pretty wide lighting fixture above the stage.”

“Oh yeah, I know the type you mean!” Haruto agreed. “They fix spotlights and beams to it for the SFX people to use during a show.”

Tsumugi snorted a laugh. “Of course the theatre kid is able to explain this.”

“Shut up. Anyway,” Rantaro continued. “There was more than enough space for me to stand. And the reason we checked there in the first place is because someone had placed a ladder leading up there.”

“So that means someone definitely went up there, right?” Miko asked.

“Exactly. Without a doubt, that’s where Kaoru fell from.”

“Yeah, but what was he doing up there?” Yuuma asked.

“I’ve got it!” Rikona announced. “The killer pushed him off!”

“Pushed him off?” Kokoro asked.

“If you peasants merely think about it, then you’ll see that it’s true!” She continued. “Rantaro said that the lighting fixture was pretty wide and that there was enough space for him to stand. So it’s obvious that the killer shoved Kaoru off!”

“If the killer was up there, you would’ve seen them coming out of the door when the announcement went off, genius.” Tsumugi said bluntly.

“Yes, but what if they _didn’t?_”

“If they didn’t?” Saiko started, before realising what Rikona was getting at. “Wait, so you’re saying that-?”

“Yes!” Rikona said triumphantly, pointing a finger at Amai. “SHE’S the killer!”

“Wh- ME!?” Amai exclaimed.

“Of course! Kokoro found you lying backstage, didn’t she?”

“Well I did, but-” Kokoro started.

“EXACTLY! The most plausible explanation is that after pushing Kaoru to his death, you didn’t have enough time to join the rest of the group without looking suspicious, so you lay down and pretended to be a victim! It’s obvious!”

Rantaro shook his head. “I don’t think that’s the case.”

“What!?” Rikona turned to him aggressively. “Cease your nonsense, peasant! It’s clear that Amai’s the killer!”

“Not exactly. Her story is pretty different from yours.”

“Well yeah,” Amai explained. “The killer invited me to go to the stage room at 7, but something knocked me out as soon as I opened the door, and next thing I knew I was on that crash mat backstage.”

“How do we know that testimony isn’t a lie?” Rikona questioned.

“We don’t know for sure yet, but it’s the only thing we have right now.” Rantaro replied.

Rikona growled and folded her arms, muttering angrily under her breath.

“Yeah, but she has a point about the door.” Ahmya pointed out. “If someone really did push Kaoru off the lighting fixture, then we would have seen them, right?”

“I dunno,” Kokoro said with a shrug. “If you ask me, I think people would be more focused on the dead body lying on the stage rather than someone going through a door.”

“So you’re suggesting that we simply just didn’t see them?” Ayano asked. “...Pretty flimsy logic, if you ask me...”

“Gah! This is all way too confusing!” Haruto complained. “Can we _please_ change the subject? To, like, the murder weapon or something?”

“If he fell to his death, I don’t think there really IS a murder weapon.” Miko pointed out.

“Well, there has to be one, hasn’t there?”

“Yeah, but is there?” Jasper questioned.

Haruto didn’t say anything for a bit.

“…...Uh…...Gravity?”

Jasper sighed and sarcastically golf-clapped. “Oh would you look at that, the murder weapon is gravity. Great job, everyone.”

“H-hey! That wasn’t necessary!”

“Murder weapon or not,” Rantaro said. “He has a point. We’ll get nowhere if we all start pointing fingers at once.”

“But what _do_ we talk about, though?” Saiko asked.

Rantaro stopped to think.

“Hmm...Well, we DO know that Kaoru had to have been on the stage at some point before he died.”

“How do we know that?” Ahmya asked.

“Oh, I know what he’s talking about!” Kokoro chimed in. “Kaoru tried to write something!”

“He did?” Amai asked. “What’d he say?”

“That’s the thing! We don’t know!”

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah. He had tried to write something using his blood, but whatever he was trying to say got covered by the blood pool caused by his fall.”

“He tried to write something in his own blood?” Rikona shivered. “Eugh, gross...”

“Any idea what he was trying to say?” Yuuma asked. “I mean, I know the message was covered, but could you make out anything?”

“The first letter, probably.” Kokoro answered. “It...Kinda looked like...A really weird capital E.”

“How the hell does an E help with anything!?” Tsumugi argued.

“Well we don’t know, the message got covered!” Saiko argued back.

“Putting that aside,” Jasper said. “We now know that Kaoru was on the stage at some point before he died. At some point after those cuts down his arms were inflicted, as well.”

“Well yeah, if he had enough time to write something there before he died.” Kokoro replied.

“Wait, didn’t the Monokuma File say that he was given anaesthetic?” Miko asked. “Anaesthetic renders you unconscious, doesn’t it?”

“Maybe the anaesthetic was starting to wear off.” Jasper said with a shrug. “He tried to write whatever he tried to write, but the killer noticed he was awake and finished him off.”

“That’s...Awful...”

“That aside, why was Kaoru writing something in the first place?” Haruto asked. “If the anaesthetic wore off at some point, why didn’t he try to get away?”

“Maybe that was the only thing he COULD do.” Rantaro replied. “His body was tied up, remember? Not to mention, his right arm was free.”

“Yeah, and we noticed that there was blood on the index finger of that hand.” Saiko added.

“Exactly. So it’s possible that he managed to get his arm free and tried to write something.”

“Ohh, that makes sense.” Haruto mused. “But what do you reckon he was trying to say?”

“He was...” Rantaro started. “Probably trying to give us a hint.”

“A hint?” Miko asked.

“Yes. He must have been trying to give us a hint to the identity of his killer.”

“_What!?_” Amai exclaimed.

“Hold on, I think I get where this is coming from!” Kokoro agreed. “He was probably attacked by the killer at some point, right?”

Jasper nodded. “Yeah, they possibly administered the anaesthetic on him then and took him to the stage room.”

“Then that means he probably would’ve SEEN the killer!” Kokoro pointed out. “So when the anaesthetic was wearing off, he tried to tell us who the killer was!”

“That just makes the fact that it was covered up even MORE annoying...” Tsumugi grumbled.

“So what, he was trying to write one of our names?” Rikona asked.

“No, I doubt it was a name.” Rantaro answered. “For starters, none of our names begin with E.”

“It also didn’t really look like the _letter_ E.” Kokoro added. “It...Kinda looked like the weird math symbol...”

“You mean Sigma?” Ayano asked.

“I don’t know the names, so probably.”

“So is Ayano the killer then!?” Amai argued.

“Yeah. No. Rikona has my alibi.” Ayano said bluntly.

“Exactly!” Rikona said, puffing out her chest with pride. “I challenged her to use her intelligence and logic against me in a chess match!”

“First thing in the morning?” Yuuma asked skeptically.

“Not really. She asked me last night.” Ayano replied. “But we didn’t have enough time, so we decided to play in the morning.”

“She wasn’t half-bad, actually!” Rikona continued. “However, she never would have bested ME!” She then deflated. “But I never got to find out, that annoying body discovery announcement started blaring halfway through.”

“Oh, so neither of you are the killer.” Yuuma remarked. “We’re making progress.”

“Hold on,” Saiko pointed out. “Who’s to say they aren’t covering for each other?”

“What!?” Rikona snapped.

“So you’re suggesting one of us is an accomplice?” Ayano asked.

“If you say you both have each others’ alibis, that would make us immediately write both of you off as the killers. So it makes sense for you two to work together, doesn’t it?” Saiko explained.

“Cease your babbling, peasant!” Rikona snapped at him. “We’ve just been over this! Ayano and I have each other’s alibis!”

“Uh, yeah. I’m saying you’re both lying.” Saiko remarked with a raised eyebrow.

“Actually,” Rantaro said. “I don’t think they are.”

“Huh? What makes you think that?”

“Would an accomplice really benefit here?”

“They would, wouldn’t they? The rules said that if the killer gets away with it, everyone else gets punished or whatever and they graduate.”

“But that’s the thing.” Rantaro pointed out. “Only the _killer_ gets to graduate.”

Saiko stopped. “...Ohh. Right, that checks out.”

“...I don’t get it.” Amai said.

“In short,” Rantaro explained. “The rules state that the killer would be able to graduate if they got away with their crime. But _only_ the killer. The only way an accomplice could benefit is if somehow they both killed the victim at the same time.”

“If they both killed the victim at the same time…? Oh, oh!” Amai realised. “Kaoru had those cuts on his arms, right? They coulda both been done by two people at the same time!”

Tsumugi gave her an annoyed deadpan expression. “...You really are dense, aren’t you?”

“Huuuuuuh!?”

“Amai, we’ve been over this.” Jasper explained bluntly. “Kaoru had to have been alive after those cuts were inflicted to write that covered-up message on the stage. Not to mention, the Monokuma File literally said that the cause of death was force of impact.”

“...Ooooohhhhhh...”

“So in conclusion,” Rantaro continued, folding his arms. “There’s no way an accomplice could have benefited from Kaoru’s murder. So Rikona and Ayano are in the clear.”

“See!?” Rikona snapped, angrily turning to Saiko. “I TOLD you, peasant!”

“Okay okay,” Saiko waved his hand to dismiss her. “Fine, I was wrong, you weren’t lying. Can we move on, please?”

“...Hold on a second.” Jasper said.

“What is it?” Rantaro asked.

He adjusted his glasses. “I have a feeling...That Saiko may not have been so far off after all.”

“What?” Saiko asked. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean it’s possible that there COULD have been an accomplice. But-”

“We just went over how there COULDN’T have been an accomplice, dumbass-!” Tsumugi started to argue, but Jasper stopped her by raising his hand in a “stop” position.

He raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t let me finish.”

Tsumugi growled and turned away, folding her arms angrily.

“As I was saying,” He continued. “There could have been an accomplice...But an _unwilling _one.”

“What…!?” Rantaro said incredulously.

“An unwilling accomplice? What the heck do you mean by that!?” Kokoro argued.

“Simple.” Jasper continued. “Someone who the killer didn’t initially factor into their plan, but decided to use when they had the opportunity.”

“Wait, hold on!” Amai said, desperately trying to follow what was going on. “You’re using way too many big words! What’re you talking about!?”

“Jasper...You’re saying that there’s _two_ people involved in this case?” Rantaro asked.

Jasper gave him a wink. “Bingo.”

“Why would there be two people involved in this!? This is crazy!” Haruto argued.

“It’s obvious if you take an outsider’s perspective.”

“What the fuck’s THAT supposed to mean!?” Sachiko growled.

“Think about it.” Jasper continued. “Think about the basic layout of the case here. We’ve been assuming something integral from the very beginning.”

Ahmya sighed. “Can someone get him to start speaking normally please?”

Jasper groaned. “I AM speaking normally. I’ve literally been laying this out for all of you. THINK. ABOUT. THIS.”

“Jasper, just tell us!” Rantaro snapped, annoyed.

“Think about this, Ran-Ran. There’s somewhere in this case a second person would have gotten involved, isn’t there? It’s obvious if you think about it.”

_Somewhere in this case a second person would have gotten involved?_ Rantaro thought.

_Jasper seems pretty sure about this...Why won’t he just tell us!?_

_Ugh...Okay, think._

_In the scenario of Kaoru dying and Amai going missing, where would a second person get involved?_

_...Wait._

“...You’re talking about Amai, aren’t you?”

Jasper nodded with a smile. “That’s correct.”

“Huh?” Amai said, confused. “What ABOUT me?”

“I think what Jasper’s getting at is...” Rantaro continued, putting a hand to his chin. “We’ve all been assuming that Kaoru’s killer is the one who knocked Amai out...But as it turns out...The person who knocked Amai out and Kaoru’s killer are **two different people!**”

Jasper nodded again. “Exactly.”

“_What!?_” Kokoro exclaimed.

“Think about this.” Jasper explained. “Someone knocked out Amai for whatever reason, but the killer decided to use her unconscious body for whatever reason.” He sighed. “But since you all assumed that that person and the killer were one and the same, you didn’t see it.”

“...What do you mean, ‘you all’?” Rantaro asked.

Jasper avoided the question. “Do you see now? The fact that there are two people involved makes sense. In fact, there might have been something on the scene that proves that these two people aren’t the same.”

“What?”

“Gaaaah, this is all too confusiiiiing!” Amai whined.

“You’re not making any sense right now!” Saiko argued. “How is there any proof!?”

“Jasper,” Rantaro started. “Can you please explain-”

Kokoro cut him off.

“...You’re talking about the second syringe, right?”

Rantaro stopped. “What?”

“The second syringe we found, remember?” She explained to him. “The one next to all those boxes near the door. The one that was all smashed up.”

Rantaro froze.

_...Wait...That means…!_

Kokoro nodded in understanding.

Rantaro realised what she meant.

_...You’re good at this._

“Eh?” Ayano asked. “Second?”

“Well,” Kokoro started to explain. “When Rantaro and I were investigating backstage, other than that crash mat, we found a bloody knife and a half-full syringe.”

“A bloody knife?” Miko asked.

“Looked like it came from the kitchen probably. And ‘cause of the blood, it looked like that was what caused Kaoru’s cuts. As for the syringe,” She turned to Saiko. “You saw a wound on Kaoru’s neck that proved he was injected with something, right?”

Saiko nodded. “Yeah, there was a tiny pinprick-sized wound on the side of Kaoru’s neck.”

“Well, since he had been under the affect of anaesthetic, that’s likely what that syringe contained.”

“So the killer put both that and the knife backstage in a sloppy attempt of clearing up.” Ahmya mused.

“But here’s the thing,” Kokoro continued. “When we were just about to leave, we found ANOTHER syringe!”

“Another one!?” Yuuma asked.

“Yeah! It was behind these wooden boxes nearby the door, but it was all smashed up! There was lots of liquid around the shards too, so it obviously was still full before it got broken!”

“So Jasper was saying that this second syringe is proof of a second person?” Haruto asked.

Jasper nodded. “Precisely.”

“I think they were planning to use whatever was in it on Amai after they knocked her out,” Kokoro explained. “But since the killer used Amai for something else, the other person stomped on the syringe to destroy it and bolted.”

“Yes,” Jasper continued. “That’s exactly what I was-”

“How did you know about that.”

Jasper stopped when Rantaro said that. “Huh?”

“Jasper.” Rantaro’s glare narrowed on him. “How. Did you know. About the second syringe.”

Jasper didn’t say anything.

“I asked you a question, Jasper. Aren’t you gonna answer me?”

“Wait, Rantaro,” Saiko asked. “What’re you saying?”

“Jasper seemed pretty adamant that the second syringe was what proved there was a second person involved.” Rantaro explained. “But he **wasn’t there **when Kokoro and I found it.”

Saiko’s eyes widened. “He _what!?_”

Jasper didn’t say anything.

“I realised when Kokoro pointed it out.” Rantaro continued. “If that was what he was hinting at, then he had to have known about it. But Kokoro and I were the ones who found it, and we never brought it up until now.”

“Wait, so...How the hell did Jasper know about it!?” Haruto exclaimed.

“There’s only one possibility...” Rantaro turned to Jasper. “...Isn’t there?”

He didn’t reply.

“You’re saying...JASPER’S the one who knocked me out!?” Amai exclaimed.

Rantaro nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. And...I think I can prove it.”

“...Oh?”

Everyone turned to Jasper when he finally spoke up.

He looked back up to them, glaring with maliciously glowing eyes.

“_Can you, now?_”

Rantaro instinctively flinched back, but regained his composure.

The others didn’t seem to be so lucky.

“U-uh...What’s going on with him!?” Haruto asked nervously.

“Has Jasper _always_ been like this?” Yuuma asked. “With the weird glowing eyes?”

“You mean I’m NOT the only one seeing that!?” Amai exclaimed.

“You said you can prove I’m the second person, didn’t you?” Jasper continued in a voice dripping with dread. “Go ahead. How am I the person who knocked out Amai?”

“You knew about the broken syringe even though you didn’t find it!” Rantaro argued.

Jasper dismissed his rebuttal. “I’m not talking about the syringe. You said there was another way you can prove it, didn’t you?”

“Jasper, stop avoiding the question!”

“Go on. _I’m waiting._”

Rantaro tensed his fists uncomfortably before continuing.

“...When we were looking for Amai, you seemed pretty adamant on going to the stage room.”

Jasper stopped.

“Yeah,” Sachiko agreed. “Was a pretty fuckin’ weird place for her to be, but he was steadfast on going there.”

“And that just happened to be where Kaoru’s body ended up.” Rantaro gave Jasper a glare. “That proof enough for you?”

Jasper narrowed his eyes. “That was a coincidence. Give me real proof.”

“W- A COINCIDENCE!?” Kokoro snapped. “You know exactly where Kaoru and Amai were on the first try! How was that a coincidence!?”

“A seemingly impossible coincidence, but a coincidence nonethele-”

“You want real proof?” Rantaro asked bluntly.

“Huh…?” Jasper turned to face him.

Rantaro nodded to Rikona. “She has it.”

“What? Oh, of course!” Rikona realised. “Jasper’s dorm room is close to mine’s, you see. And when Ayano and I were leaving to my lab for our chess game, I noticed that his door didn’t even open.”

Jasper stopped. “...What.”

“Yeah, I didn’t hear it open either. It was after the morning announcement, so he should’ve gotten up around that time. Strange, right?”

“So that means Jasper stayed in his room for longer?” Miko asked. “That makes sense, since he was the last person to arrive at our meeting.”

“Not quite.” Rantaro corrected. “That means that he had _already left._”

“He...Already left?”

“Exactly. And if Amai’s note is right, he had already left at least an hour beforehand.”

“Yeah, the note I got said to go to the stage room at 7.” Amai added. “That’s an hour before the morning announcement, isn’t it?”

“Why, yes!” Monokuma chimed in. “The morning announcement is always at 8am sharp!”

“So that would be the only thing that explains why Rikona never saw him leave his room.” Rantaro said. “He had already left to knock out Amai.”

“That...Kinda also explains why he was the last person to arrive.” Yuuma realised. “I don’t think he would have finished as soon as the announcement went off.”

“So Jasper IS the one who knocked Amai out?” Ahmya asked.

“Oh, come _ON._” Jasper said, annoyed. “I had just overslept, that’s why Rikona never saw me leave. This is all just one big coincidence.”

“No...” Rantaro started. “One, I understand. But...You knew about the second syringe, you knew where Kaoru and Amai were, you never left your room after the announcement…This is just one coincidence after the other. Makes it a lot less believable, huh?”

Jasper didn’t reply.

“Jasper...I’ve had a weird feeling about you since the beginning. You always seemed...Off. I mean sure, you always acted calm, cool and polite to everyone, but...You have this weird aura that always makes me feel like something bad is gonna happen. And- and you’ve always been saying this weird stuff about me being ‘useful’ to you, and you’ve somehow been able to read my mind, but THIS...Is something else completely…!”

Jasper didn’t reply. He just looked down, the light reflecting off his glasses covering his eyes.

“Jasper, what the hell IS this!?”

Nothing.

“Don’t just stand there! _SAY SOMETHING!”_

…

“…...Ah…Ahahah...”

Rantaro flinched back. “...What…!?”

“Hahahah...Ahahahahaha…!”

_Is he...Laughing…!?_

“Hahahaha…!...AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Jasper threw his head back and burst out into maniacal laughter.

Everyone else looked on in confusion and horror as he kept laughing.

He eventually seemingly calmed down after his hysterical laughing fit, and spread his arms out a little in a half-shrug.

“...Okay...” He said, with a wide and malicious grin plastered across his face.

“You got me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUUUUUUN  
I mean I have a feeling people were expecting Jasper to snap at some point, but yeah.  
I'm glad I managed to get this done so quickly after the last one! I guess I was just excited to start the trial? Idk  
But yeah, thank you for reading to the end! <3  
So who do you think Kaoru's killer REALLY is? And how exactly do Jasper and Amai fit into all this, anyway? Let me know your theories in the comments!


	10. True Colours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Jasper reveals his role in this murder case, it becomes apparent that the cause of death isn't as clear cut as it seemed.  
But as more things get cleared up, the identity of the killer gets closer and closer...

Rantaro’s eyes widened. “_What!?_”

“Yep. You got me. I was the one who knocked out Amai.” Jasper sighed and rested his hands behind his head. “Didn’t expect the game to be up this quickly, though...”

“‘Game’…!? What the hell are you talking about!?”

“It’s not hard, Ran-Ran. You found me out. You won. For now, at least.”

“What the- what do you mean, I _won!?_ What the hell are you talking about!?”

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “Haven’t you been paying attention? I literally just told you.” He sighed, annoyed. “For someone who managed to figure out part of my role in this, you certainly don’t listen very well.”

Everyone was staring at Jasper in stunned and horrified silence. Jasper, who had initially come across as an enigmatic but calm and polite person, had just revealed a much darker side.

And he was still acting as casually as ever about it.

“U-uh...” Rikona started nervously. “Is it just me, or has Jasper gone completely nuts?”

“My my, that’s an insensitive way of putting it.” Jasper replied in mock offence. “For someone who acts like they’re above everyone, you certainly have a lack of basic manners.” He tutted. “But as I said, I never expected you all to figure me out this quickly. Only a handful of you seemed like a threat, after all...” He sighed, before flashing a grin at Rantaro. “Either way, you did well to figure this out! I knew you would be fun to play with!” He laughed and clapped, as if applauding him. “Well done, Rantaro!”

“J-just stop it already!” Kokoro argued. “Jasper, what the hell’s gotten into you!?”

Ayano narrowed her eyes on him. “I see...It appears that the Jasper we previously met was merely a facade.”

“A facade…?” Miko asked nervously.

“Mmhm. _This_ is evidently the real Jasper.”

“You mean…He was _lying_ this whole time!?”

Jasper burst out laughing again. “Ahahah! I didn’t expect you to believe me at face value, but you all took to it like a moth to a burning match! For Ultimate Students, you’re all just so STUPID!”

Rantaro couldn’t take his eyes off of him.

_So **this** is the real Jasper Shion?_

He clenched his fist nervously.

_...I knew there was something up with him, but this is something else…_

“So...You’re the one who knocked out Amai, right?” Yuuma asked.

“Weren’t you paying attention? I literally just confessed.” Jasper answered, annoyed. “I knocked out Amai. Can we move on?”

Rantaro tightened his fists. “...No.”

Jasper tilted his head. “Oh?”

“That wasn’t your plan, was it?”

Jasper looked intrigued. “...Go on…?”

Rantaro’s glare narrowed on him.

“...You wanted to kill her, didn’t you?”

The courtroom went silent again.

Jasper sighed. “For an adventurer, you’re certainly very perceptive.”

“Wa-wa-wa-wa-WHAT!?!?” Amai exclaimed. “He tried to KILL ME!?”

Ayano hummed thoughtfully. “Even despite recent events, that’s quite a bold claim. Can you prove it?”

Rantaro nodded. “The second syringe. The broken one.”

“What about the second syringe?” Saiko asked. “That was anaesthetic, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, that had to be what he knocked Amai out with!” Rikona agreed.

Rantaro shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“What!? How not, peasant!?”

“We already know the first syringe we found backstage contains anaesthetic,” Rantaro explained “And that that and the knife belonged to the killer. As for the broken syringe, that evidently belonged to Jasper. But we know Amai wasn’t injected with anything.”

“How do we know that?” Sachiko asked.

“As a matter of fact,” Ayano mused. “When I was checking up on Amai earlier, I didn’t see anything that indicated use of a syringe.”

“Wha- Why the fuck didn’t you say that until now!?”

“Amai clearly suffered a concussion. I thought you would have put that together before now.”

“Yeah, something definitely hit me on the head before I blacked out.” Amai agreed.

Rantaro nodded. “Exactly. Amai was knocked out by a blow to the head, not a syringe. So the broken syringe didn’t contain anaesthetic. It likely contained some kind of poison to use as the finishing blow once she was vulnerable.”

“Dingding! That’s right!” Monokuma announced from his throne. “The broken syringe didn’t contain anaesthetic! It in fact contained _cyanide poison!_”

“W-what!? Why didn’t you say that earlier!?” Kokoro argued, before turning to Jasper. “And where did you even GET cyanide!?”

Jasper shrugged. “I have my ways.”

“Either way,” Rantaro continued. “That proves it. Amai being knocked out was definitely an attempted murder.”

Amai’s face paled. “...H-holy shit...”

“Right, but if she wasn’t knocked out by anaesthetic, what WAS she knocked out by?” Yuuma asked.

Rantaro thought for a moment, taking a mental gambit to find the right word, before it clicked.

“The sandbag! There was a sandbag next to the door!”

“Oh yeah, that’s right!” Kokoro realised. “And some of the sand had been knocked out of it too, so it must’ve hit something!”

Tsumugi gestured to Amai with a raised eyebrow. “Like her head?”

“Hey!” Amai said, offended.

Rantaro sighed. “As much as I hate to agree with you, yes.”

“Yeah, sandbags can be pretty heavy depending on how full they are.” Haruto agreed. “If they’re heavy enough to be used as counterweights for sets, then they’re definitely heavy enough to knock someone out.”

“Exactly. Amai had to have been knocked out by that sandbag.”

“So you’re saying Jasper dropped the sandbag on her?” Kokoro asked.

“That doesn’t make any sense! There’s nothing for him to drop it from!” Saiko argued.

“What about the lighting fixture?” Miko suggested. “We already know that’s where Kaoru fell from.”

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “Are you seriously suggesting that, while standing on top of the lighting fixture above the stage, I managed to throw a heavy sandbag all the way across the room and somehow hit Amai directly on the head as soon as she walked through the door?”

Miko took a step back. “Yeah you’re right, that sounds dumb...”

Jasper smiled. “At least one of you is learning.”

“Jasper, quit it!” Kokoro argued.

Rantaro realised something. “Hold on a second.” He turned to Amai. “You were knocked out not too long after you opened the door, right?”

Amai nodded. “Yeah, just a few seconds after I walked in.”

“Hm...What if it was propped up on top of the door?”

“The sandbag was propped up on the door?” Ahmya asked. “You mean like that dumb water bucket prank used all the time in kids shows?”

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah, just like that.”

Ayano hummed thoughtfully. “I think I can picture what you mean...If Jasper propped the sandbag above the door, it would fall down if the door was opened. And he was lucky enough for it to land on Amai’s head.”

“All the while he was hiding behind those boxes with that other syringe in hand,” Rantaro added. “To slip out and finish her off as soon as she was knocked out.” He turned to Jasper. “Is that it?”

Jasper smiled. “Wow. You ARE good.”

“So that’s it then!” Amai exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Jasper. “HE’S the killer!”

Jasper deadpanned her. “Uh...Seriously? How much of an idiot _are_ you? We literally explained that the killer and I are two different people less than ten minutes ago.”

“Yeah, but you were the one who brought that up in the first place! So you were definitely lying about that!”

“Was I? Then go ahead and riddle me this...”

His expression darkened.

“If I’m the killer, _why are you still alive?”_

Amai stopped. “Wha?”

“You heard me. If I’m the killer, why is Kaoru dead instead of you?”

“Uhh...I’m confused, what’s he saying?”

“I think he’s saying,” Rantaro explained. “Even though he came up with a plan to kill you, Kaoru ended up dying instead. And because of that, he can’t be the killer.”

Jasper nodded. “That’s right.”

“W- and you’re letting him off the hook because of that!?” Saiko argued.

“Not yet. We need some way to prove this claim first.”

“Why don’t I help with that?” Jasper suggested.

Rantaro stopped. “What?”

“You need proof, don’t you?”

“No, I mean- why are you _helping_ us?” Rantaro asked. “This will only dig you into a deeper and deeper hole.”

Jasper shook his head. “Not really. I want to catch the killer as much as the rest of you, you know.”

“B-but you literally just admitted that you tried to kill me!” Amai argued.

“And your point is? Helping you find Kaoru’s killer doesn’t affect me. So I figured I might as well lend a helping hand.”

Rantaro sighed. “So what is it then? What’s your proof that you aren’t Kaoru’s killer?”

Jasper shrugged. “Well something evidently stopped me.”

“...What?”

“From killing her. Something must have stopped me, mustn’t it?” He nodded to Kokoro. “Hikari even said it herself.”

Kokoro’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, so you’re lastnaming me now?”

“Not my point. What did you say about the second syringe? Specifically, about why it was broken.”

“Well,” Kokoro recalled. “I said that you must have stomped on it and bolted.”

“That’s right. Something must have happened to make me do that. And there’s still the fact that even though I knocked out Amai at the door, she ended up tied up backstage.”

“Wait, so you _didn’t_ tie me up?” Amai asked.

“If I was planning on poisoning you, why would I tie you up?”

“...Fair point...”

“Exactly.” Jasper turned back to Rantaro. “So how about it, Ran-Ran? What caused me to change my plan?”

Rantaro’s glare narrowed. “...Please stop calling me that.”

“That didn’t answer my question. Why didn’t I kill Amai? Think carefully, now.”

Rantaro sighed. _If he’s really willing to cooperate, I might as well play along…_

_What stopped Jasper from killing Amai?_

_We know that him and the killer both used the stage room, and that the killer ended up using Amai for their plan instead…_

_So that probably means that…_

“...The killer came in before you could finish the job.”

Kokoro stopped. “...What!?”

“The real killer came in with Kaoru before Jasper could finish the job!”

Jasper smiled. “Well done. I knew you had it in you.”

“Wait, what!? What’re you talking about!?” Haruto asked, confused.

“After Amai got knocked out,” Rantaro explained. “The killer came in with Kaoru – while he was still unconscious – before Jasper could come out of his hiding place. Because of this, the killer used Amai for their plan instead. That explains why Jasper didn’t follow through with his plan!”

“That...Actually makes sense.” Yuuma said.

“Hold on,” Kokoro started. “You DO know what this means, right?”

“What?” Rantaro asked.

“I don’t think Jasper would have been able to leave while the killer was still there in case they noticed and killed him for seeing too much,” She explained. “So that can only mean...”

Rantaro froze as soon as he realised what she meant.

He turned to Jasper with a glare.

“...You SAW who killed Kaoru, didn’t you!?”

Jasper didn’t say anything at first, letting the silence sink in.

He eventually nodded.

“...Yeah. Why?”

Rantaro finally snapped.

“YOU KNOW GODDAMN WELL WHY! TELL US WHO THE KILLER IS!”

Jasper remained calm. “And why would I do that?”

“BECAUSE YOU LITERALLY JUST SAID YOU’D HELP US! WHY WON’T YOU TELL US WHO THE KILLER IS!?”

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “If I did, would you really believe me?”

Rantaro froze. “...What!?”

“Think about it. You all found out that I’ve been lying about my role in Kaoru’s death for the majority of the trial. Knowing that, would any of you _really_ believe me if I told you who Kaoru’s real killer is?”

Rantaro didn’t say anything.

“Exactly.” Jasper continued. “And besides, that would end the trial way too early for Monokuma’s liking. He’d probably have me shot as soon as I start to say the first letter of the killer’s name.”

“That I would!” Monokuma agreed.

“Precisely. And besides...”

His eyes glowed again, and his gaze turned to address something Rantaro couldn’t see.

“_That wouldn’t be __a __very interesting __ending__, would it?”_

Rantaro stopped. “...What the hell’s that supposed to mean!?”

Jasper’s glare narrowed back on him. “Did it LOOK like I was talking to you?”

“W-what!?”

“Anyway, you all still have more to figure out.” Jasper continued, dismissing the subject entirely. “For starters, how Amai fits into all this.”

“...Well yes,” Rantaro started. “That is a good point.”

“Maybe it was a misdirection,” Rikona suggested. “So the killer could get all of us on the wrong track rather than focusing on Kaoru. Because that’s certainly what’s happened now!”

“If it was, why would they bother tying her up?” Ahmya pointed out. “They could’ve just left her on the crash mat. Or hell, they could have just left her at the door.”

“So that means the killer somehow used her in their plan to kill Kaoru.” Rantaro mused.

“Yeah, but if the killer shoved Kaoru off the lighting fixture, how does Amai fit into it?” Yuuma asked.

Rantaro stopped, realising something.

“...Say that again.”

“...Uh...If the killer shoved Kaoru off the lighting fixture, how does Amai fit into it?”

“Yuuma, that’s it!”

“What’s it?”

“Kaoru still fell to his death, but the killer didn’t shove him off!”

“Wh- have you COMPLETELY lost your mind!?” Tsumugi argued. “We put it together that Kaoru was pushed off AGES ago, dumbass!”

“Yes, but if we put that with some of the things we know now, that starts to make less sense.” Rantaro explained. “The backstage door, for starters.”

“Huh? What about the backstage door?” Amai asked.

“Me, Kokoro, Sachiko and Jasper all saw Kaoru fall to his death when we came in. If the killer really did push Kaoru off the edge of the lighting fixture, we would have seen them coming out.”

“Well yeah,” Kokoro started. “But wouldn’t we have been too focused on a dead body?”

Rantaro shook his head. “I don’t think so. That logic is way too risky to rely on. Not to mention, the others would have seen them when they came in, wouldn’t they?”

Ayano nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

“So...The killer WASN’T hiding backstage?” Rikona asked.

“They weren’t. That means they can’t have pushed Kaoru off.” Rantaro explained. “There’s something else that proves this, as a matter of fact. Kaoru’s message on the stage.”

“Yeah, that proves that Kaoru was on the stage at some point before he died, right?” Haruto asked. “And that the anaesthetic was starting to wear off.”

“Exactly. If the killer killed him by pushing him off, that means they would have convinced a still conscious Kaoru to come up with them to the lighting fixture. And since they attacked him, he wouldn’t have gone with them that easy.”

“But that’s what the rope was for, right?” Rikona asked. “So Kaoru wouldn’t struggle!”

“But if the killer was planning to push Kaoru off, what would be the point of the rope?” Rantaro pointed out. “That sounds like a waste of resources to me.”

“Not to mention, Amai was tied up too.” Jasper added. “So the rope had to have been used for something.”

“Something which you already know.” Ayano pointed out bluntly.

Jasper shrugged. “Eh, same difference.”

“Either way,” Rantaro continued. “Both of these things prove that the killer didn’t kill Kaoru by pushing him off of the lighting fixture.”

“But hold on,” Miko started. “If Kaoru WASN’T pushed off of the lighting fixture, how did he fall to his death?”

Rantaro thought to himself. “Hmm…He had to have fallen to his death some other way.”

“What other way then, genius?” Tsumugi taunted. “The only other way we have is if Kaoru went up there himself and jumped off!” She chuckled. “After the state he was in when the motive was put out, wouldn’t put that past him.”

“Yeah, no.” Kokoro shook her head. “What we now know from Jasper proves that there is a separate killer.”

“...What if the killer set something up?” Rantaro suggested. “They set up a trap that would cause Kaoru to fall to his death.”

“A trap?”

“Hold on, I think I get what you mean.” Saiko agreed. “A complicated trap that would cause Kaoru to fall off of the lighting fixture. Like a Rube Goldberg device, right?”

“A Ruby-Gold de-what?” Amai asked.

“Rube Goldberg device.” Saiko corrected. “Basically an unnecessarily complicated machine made for completing a simple task. It was an expression coined by Rube Goldberg in the 1920s.”

“So you’re suggesting that Kaoru was killed by some sort of Rube Goldberg device?” Ayano asked.

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah, exactly. A device they needed Amai for.”

“Wh- me AGAIN!?” Amai exclaimed.

“That would certainly explain why she ended up backstage...” Miko mused thoughtfully.

“Any idea how this trap worked?” Haruto asked.

“Not yet.” Rantaro said thoughtfully. “That’s our next objective.”

Jasper flashed him a smirk. “Mind if I give you a hint?”

Rantaro gave him a glare. “You again?”

Jasper deadpanned him. “Do you want the hint or not.”

“Ugh, fine...Go ahead.”

“Remind me, what was the last thing we heard before seeing Kaoru fall from the lighting fixture?”

“A scream that will haunt my nightmares?” Kokoro asked nervously.

“Not that. _Before_ that.”

Rantaro thought for a moment.

“A rope snapping.”

Jasper nodded. “You’ve got it. And what did Amai and Kaoru have in common?”

Amai looked confused. “Uuuuhhh...”

“Go on. Guess.”

“Both of them were tied up.” Rantaro answered.

“Well done. The answer will come to you in a minute.”

“Aren’t you going to tell me?”

Jasper gave him a shrug. “I just said I’d give you a hint. I never said I’d tell you the answer.”

“Ugh...”

Rantaro decided to think, riding on a mental brainwave until he got the answer.

_Kaoru and Amai were both tied up._

_The last thing I heard before Kaoru fell was a rope snapping._

_Both ends of the rope binding them appeared to be broken._

_That means…!_

“Kaoru and Amai were tied to the same rope.”

“What!?” Kokoro exclaimed.

“Think about it. The last thing we heard before Kaoru fell was a rope snapping, remember?”

Sachiko nodded. “Yeah, what about it?”

“The ends for both of the strings of rope that they were tied up with were frayed, so they were likely broken. The rope we heard was that one.”

Rantaro looked over to Kokoro to see if she agreed.

Instead of saying anything, it looked like she was deep in thought about something.

_...Has she figured something out?_

“So Amai and Kaoru were tied together?” Yuuma asked, bringing Rantaro back to reality. “Why?”

Rantaro thought for a minute. “...Hmm...”

“What was the structure of the lighting fixture?” Haruto asked.

Rantaro stopped. “What was that?”

“You heard me, right? What was the structure of the lighting fixture?”

“Crossbeams. Why?”

Haruto smirked to himself. “...I think I’ve got it.”

“...What?”

“Wait,” Tsumugi started. “You think YOU know how the killer’s trap worked?”

Haruto nodded. “Mm-hm.”

She laughed to herself, rubbing her hands together in glee. “Oh, I can't wait to see this...! THIS IS GONNA BE GREAT...!”

Rantaro rolled his eyes. “Ignore her. Anyway,” He turned back to Haruto. “You think you know how the killer’s trap worked? That’s a pretty bold claim, Haruto.”

“Well, the lighting fixture was definitely made up of crossbeams, right?”

“...You asked me that not even five minutes ago.”

“Fair point. And I assume the lighting fixture was positioned in a way so that part of it hangs over the front and part of it hangs over the back, right?”

Rantaro nodded, recalling nearly having a heart attack when he saw Kaoru’s body again when he looked over the edge. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“Alright, so we know how the lighting fixture was structured and how it was positioned.” Sachiko said. “What does that have to do with Kaoru’s death?”

“A lot, actually.” Haruto explained, turning back to Rantaro. “There was definitely enough space for you to stand up, right?”

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah, definitely.”

“Now we know that Amai and Kaoru were attached to the same rope, the killer likely threaded it through the crossbeams of the lighting fixture.”

“The rope the two of them were tied to was threaded through the lighting fixture?” Rikona asked.

“Yeah, with Amai on one side of the stage and Kaoru on the other.” Haruto continued. “With the evidence we have, I assume that Amai was put up on the lighting fixture while Kaoru was left onstage.”

“Yeah, that would’ve given him enough time to write his message!” Yuuma agreed.

“I think so. I assume this trap is why the killer set up the crash mat too.”

“The crash mat?” Ayano asked.

Rantaro thought about what Haruto said for a moment, until it finally clicked.

“...Haruto, you’re a genius.”

“What!? How is that glorified theatre kid a genius!?” Tsumugi exclaimed.

Rantaro nodded to him. “Care to explain it to her?”

Haruto nodded back. “The killer’s plan wasn’t for Kaoru to fall off. It was for _Amai_ to fall off.”

“E-eh!?” Amai exclaimed.

“When she was still unconscious, she must have lost her footing.” Haruto explained. “That’s what the crash mat was for, so the fall from there wouldn’t kill her. But the thing is, her and Kaoru were tied to the same rope. So when she fell...”

“Kaoru would get dragged up.” Ayano finished. “Every action has an equal reaction, that’s basic physics.”

“Exactly. And either that caused a lot of pressure on the rope or the killer weakened it before they set it up.”

“Which explains why the rope snapped when we came in.” Rantaro agreed. “The rope that dragged Kaoru up snapped under the pressure, and he fell to his death.”

Tsumugi’s jaw dropped.

Haruto gave her a wink. “Being a theatre kid has perks, you know.”

Jasper smiled. “Huh. Not too bad.”

“Okay, you do realise that’s not comforting at all coming from an attempted murderer, right?”

“As plausible as that explanation was,” Ahmya said. “That doesn’t explain the point of the cuts.”

“They were likely a failsafe.” Rantaro explained. “If the fall didn’t kill him, he’d die from blood loss.”

She hummed thoughtfully before nodding. “...Yes, that does make sense.”

“So the killer set up this elaborate trap just to cause Kaoru to fall to his death?” Miko asked with a nervous frown. “...That’s awful…”

“Awful as it is,” Rantaro said. “We now know how the killer’s trap worked. And all thanks to Har-”

“You seriously believe that?”

Rantaro stopped and turned to face Kokoro, who had finally opened her mouth after being silent for a long time.

“...What?”

Kokoro nodded. “About the trap. The rope and the cuts and the crashmat, it doesn’t make any sense!”

“W-what do you mean, it doesn’t make sense!?” Haruto argued. “With the evidence we have, it makes perfect sense!”

“Aw, please! The fact that Kaoru was killed by one of those rubber-goldie-whatever devices is ridiculous, anyway!”

“It’s ‘Rube Goldberg device’!” Saiko corrected.

“Kokoro, where’s this coming from?” Rantaro asked, confused. “If it didn’t make sense, why didn’t you say anything until now!?”

“Because it doesn’t make sense.” Kokoro replied casually. “If the killer wanted to kill Kaoru, why set up an unnecessarily elaborate trap when they could’ve just killed him with the knife.”

Rantaro stopped. “...Um...”

“Exactly! It doesn’t make sense!”

“So...” Haruto started. “...I was...Wrong about the killer’s trap?”

“Of course you were, dummy! There’s no way to prove that’s how Kaoru died, is there?”

Saiko rolled his eyes. “Oh please, you're such a dunce. Aren't the rope fibres that were stuck in the crosspieces proof enough for you?”

“Yeah, what he said!” Haruto agreed.

Kokoro suddenly smiled to herself.

“Gotcha.”

Rantaro stopped. “Wait, what?”

Saiko agreed. “Yeah, what?”

“Wow, I did NOT expect that to work,” Kokoro continued to herself. “But it worked like a charm!”

“Okay, can someone PLEASE translate to me what’s going on?” Haruto asked.

Rantaro shook his head. “...I’m...Just as lost as you are.”

Jasper, however, seemed to understand.

“...Ooooohhhh. That’s why you said that.” He smiled. “Not bad, Hikari.”

“Wait, said what?” Rantaro asked, turning his attention to Kokoro. “Kokoro, do you mind explaining what's going on here?”

Kokoro laughed nervously. “Yeah, I maaaaay or may not have told a little lie.”

“...You...Lied?”

“Yeah! I believed in Haruto’s idea this whole time!”

“Wait, you did!? But you just said earlier that you didn’t!” Haruto argued.

“Yeah, I did that for a reason. If you listened a little closer, you’d have figured out why.” She turned to Rantaro. “You heard it, right Rantaro?”

“Wh- me?”

“No, the guy standing behind you. YES, YOU!”

“Yeah, it’s not that hard, Ran-Ran.” Jasper agreed.

“PLEASE stop calling me that!”

“Oh come ON!” Kokoro said, annoyed. “The killer basically just admitted to being the killer!”

Rantaro froze. “...What!?”

Saiko agreed. “Yeah, what!? Stop being cryptic about this!”

“Try to think about what everyone just said.” Kokoro explained. “Then you’ll see what I mean!”

Rantaro eventually relented and started thinking.

_If what Kokoro’s saying is true, how could the killer have just admitted to it?_

_They must have said something they had no way of knowing._

_Right...Think, Rantaro. THINK._

_Did someone just admit they knew something they shouldn’t have without even knowing it?_

…

_Wait a second._

_Wait a damn second._

_No._

_No, that can’t be right. That CAN’T be right, they CAN’T be the killer, they just CAN’T._

_It HAS to be someone else! This person just CAN’T BE..._

…

_...It has to be them…_

“Have you got it?” Kokoro asked.

Rantaro was looking down, his eyes on the floor.

Eventually he slowly turned to…

“...Saiko.”

Saiko looked back to him. “Huh?”

Rantaro was giving him a cold glare.

“...How the hell did you know that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUU-  
HOHOHO I LOVE ME SOME STINGER LINES~!  
I also love character deaths by Rube Goldberg devices. Who knew?
> 
> I felt like ending on a stinger like this fit for the case, not to mention I've been planning this stinger line for a while and am so glad to finally use it.
> 
> Thank you guys for reading until the end! I hope you're enjoying!  
Please leave your reactions/theories/thoughts in the comments! (or just scream at me, either's fine)


	11. Dance With Me, Liar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rantaro finally manages to hone in on the killer. However, the result is a lot more painful than he expected.

Saiko took a step back, his eyes widening. “...W-what?”

“You heard me, Saiko.” Rantaro said, his cold glare fixed on him. “How. The hell. Did you know that.”

“Know what?” Saiko asked, laughing nervously. “You’re not being cryptic too, are you?”

“The rope fibres. You said that what Haruto said had to have been true because there were rope fibres stuck in the crosspieces of the lighting fixture.”

“...Well, yeah. That proves that the rope had to have been threaded through there-”

“You never went up there.”

Saiko froze.

Rantaro’s expression darkened. “How did you know about the rope fibres if you never went up there?”

“...U-um...I...Uh...”

“Dingdingding! You got it!” Kokoro chimed.

The others (aside from Jasper, of course) looked confused.

“...Uh...” Haruto started. “...Can someone explain to me what just happened?”

Jasper dismissed him. “Give it a minute.”

Rantaro turned over to Kokoro. “...Kokoro, did you...Lie on purpose just to get the killer to say something like that?”

Kokoro nodded. “Of course! It was pretty risky, but we didn't have any other hints, so I thought it was the best thing to do.”

Rantaro raised his eyebrows in surprise.

_...That was..._

Jasper smiled. “Not bad, Hikari.”

“W- GUYS!” Haruto shouted. “You seem to have this whole secret communication thing going on between the three of you, but you’ve lost everyone here!”

“Oh, right!” Kokoro realised. “Hahah, sorry...”

“Well, when Kokoro and I were investigating backstage,” Rantaro explained. “I noticed some rope fibres stuck to some of the crosspieces of the lighting fixture.”

“...Isn’t that literally what Saiko just said?” Amai asked.

“Yeah, he-” Haruto started to say, before realising what Rantaro meant. “...Oh. OH.”

“Oh what?”

“Well,” Kokoro explained. “After Haruto figured out how the trap worked – thanks for that, by the way – I figured that was the perfect time to try and get the killer to say something only the killer should know. So...I lied.”

“So that's why you said you didn't believe him?” Ahmya asked. “Because you were trying to provoke a slip of the tongue from the killer?”

Kokoro nodded. “Precisely! And it worked!”

“I wouldn’t have noticed if Kokoro hadn’t pointed it out, but while she was arguing with Haruto about it,” Rantaro flashed a glare at Saiko. “Saiko said that he knew about the rope fibres. _Despite the fact that he never went up there._”

Saiko took a step back, his eyes widening.

“...I-I…!...U-uh…!”

“Wait,” Yuuma started. “If Saiko never went up there, how did he know about the rope fibres!?”

“That’s precisely what I would like to know.” Rantaro answered, turning back to Saiko. “Well?”

“I-it was just a guess!” Saiko stuttered. “I didn’t know for sure!”

Kokoro shook her head. “Yeah, no. It certainly sounded like you knew about it for sure. You even called me a dunce about it, remember?”

Saiko stiffened. “N-ngh…!”

Jasper smirked, tilting his head a little. “It appears that he just dug his own grave...But Hikari did an admirable job of supplying him with the shovel.”

“Sh-shut up! You can’t prove anything!” Saiko argued. “I’m NOT the killer!” He turned to face Rantaro. “Right, Rantaro?”

Rantaro stopped. “What?”

“What do you mean, what? You _know_ I’m not the killer! Defend me!”

“Saiko, hold on-”

“You had no problem defending Jasper earlier!”

“Saiko, wait a second-!”

“We’re in this together aren’t we? Come ON, Rantaro! Say something!”

Rantaro didn’t respond. He turned his eyes to the ground, uneasily clenching his fists.

As Saiko realised the implications of this reaction, his eyes widened and he took a step back.

“...W-wait...” He started. “Rantaro, you don’t...ACTUALLY think I killed him, do you…!?”

Rantaro slowly looked back up to him.

“...Saiko, I-”

“Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME!?”

Saiko angrily slammed his fist against his podium, causing half of everyone else to jump back.

Rantaro, not used to seeing this level of anger from him, raised his hands as if to calm a scared animal. “Saiko, listen-!”

“YOU WERE LITERALLY DEFENDING AN ATTEMPTED MURDERER EARLIER! AND NOW YOU THINK _I’M_ THE KILLER JUST BECAUSE I SAID ONE THING!?”

“DOES IT LOOK LIKE I **WANT** YOU TO BE THE KILLER!?”

Saiko stopped, seeming to calm down for a minute. “...What?”

Rantaro turned his gaze back to the ground.

“...Do you think I wanted this? I had no idea whether I was meant to accuse you or not when I realised what you said about the rope fibres...” He sighed. “...I don’t want you to be the killer, Saiko...”

He turned his gaze back up, giving Saiko a determined glare.

“So prove me wrong. Why _aren’t_ you the killer?”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking you to prove me wrong. Tell me why you aren’t the killer.”

Saiko tutted. “Isn’t it obvious? I was at the meeting with you all, remember? I wouldn’t have been able to set up that Rube Goldberg device in time.”

Rantaro shook his head. “Not exactly. You were the second-last person to arrive, and if I remember correctly, Jasper arrived right after you.”

“T-that doesn’t prove anything!”

“One of the reasons why we were able to prove Jasper’s involvement was because of that, remember? Considering he arrived not too long after you did, it’s not too far-fetched to use the same logic here.”

“But the main reason we suspected Jasper in the first place was because Rikona never saw him leave his room!” Saiko argued. “She never said anything about me!”

“True, but the only reason why she noticed that was because their dorms are very close together. I’m pretty sure your door is way too far away for her to care about.”

Rikona nodded to confirm. “That’s correct! I don’t take notice of the matters of peasants that aren’t close to me.”

“You’re relying on _THAT!?_” Saiko countered incredulously. “That she apparently didn’t notice me because of her superiority complex!?”

“Hey!”

“I never asked you!”

“Either way,” Rantaro continued. “Just because you were at the meeting with everyone else unfortunately doesn’t prove that you’re innocent. Since you were the second-last person to arrive, you would have had enough time to disarm Kaoru and set up the trap in the stage room if you got up earlier.”

“T-the same could be said for everyone else!” Saiko argued. “They could have done the same thing without any problem! So why are you looking at me specifically!? And besides,” He pointed an accusing finger at Tsumugi. “You haven’t even LOOKED at HER yet!”

Tsumugi took a step back. “Ex-CUSE me!?”

“She wasn’t at the meeting and she has no alibi! She’s obviously the killer!”

“Why the hell would **I** be the killer!? Use your brains, dipshit!”

Rantaro growled under his breath. “...I’m sorry, but she’s not the killer either.”

“What!?” Saiko argued. “Why not!?”

“...Unfortunately...She has literally no evidence tying her to the case.”

“‘UNFORTUNATELY’!?” Tsumugi exclaimed. “Oh, fuck you!”

“Fuck you too. Anyway,” He turned back to Saiko. “Unlike her, you DO have something tying you to the case. The fact that you knew about the rope fibres when you never went up on the lighting fixture.”

“I said earlier! That was a guess!” Saiko argued. “I just figured that the rope Kaoru and Amai were tied to would leave some fibres behind when it snapped, okay!? That doesn’t prove that I’m the killer!”

“I don’t know. You seemed pretty sure about it when you were arguing with Kokoro earlier.”

“Either way, it’s just circumstantial! Unless you have concrete proof, I’m not the killer!”

Rantaro stopped.

_He has a point...Even though he knew about the rope fibres, that’s not really enough to prove anything…_

_...I really don’t want to do this, but…_

_Is there something else that can prove that he’s…?_

Something finally clicked.

“...Kaoru’s dying message.”

Saiko stopped.

“...What?”

“Kaoru’s dying message.” Rantaro repeated. “That’s what proves it.”

“You mean whatever he tried to write on the stage?” Yuuma asked.

“Unless you can’t read, peasant,” Rikona started skeptically. “Last time I checked, neither Saiko’s name or talent start with E.”

“It doesn’t even LOOK that much like an E.”

“E-exactly! How does Kaoru’s message prove anything!?” Saiko seconded.

Rantaro shook his head. “It doesn’t if you look at it that way.”

“What!?”

“Try looking at it from a different angle.”

“Kinda hard to do that when we can only make out one letter.” Haruto pointed out.

“Well, it resembles the Greek letter Sigma, doesn’t it?” Ayano suggested. “It translates to ‘S’ in the Greek alphabet.”

“If Kaoru was giving us a hint, why would he write it in Greek?” Ahmya countered.

“So the killer wouldn’t understand it either! Duh!” Amai replied chirpily.

“I feel the need to point out the fact that barely any of us know Greek.” Yuuma explained. “Unless Jasper was the Ultimate Linguist or something, Kaoru writing the message in Greek would be useless.”

“And if he WAS the Ultimate Linguist, why the fuck would he hide that?” Sachiko agreed.

“Besides, he’s the Ultimate Paediatrician.” Rikona added. “How would that peasant even KNOW Greek!?”

Miko sighed. “It doesn’t seem that the message proves anything after all...”

Rantaro shook his head again. “No, it does prove something. You’re all still looking at it from the wrong angle.”

“How are we looking at it from the wrong angle!?” Saiko argued.

“Because Kaoru wasn’t trying to write something. Kaoru was trying to **draw** something.”

Saiko stiffened. “W-what!?”

“He was...Trying to draw something?” Kokoro asked.

“Yeah.” Rantaro explained. “He tried to draw a symbol to show who the killer was, but half of it was covered up by the bloodstain from his fall.”

“Oooohhh, I get it!” Kokoro realised. “Rather than his dying message being an actual written message, his dying message was a picture!”

“Yes. Exactly.”

“Okay, so if Kaoru was trying to draw something,” Haruto asked. “What was it? And how does that prove Saiko’s the killer?”

“Simple.” Rantaro replied. “Kaoru was trying to draw an hourglass.”

“An...Hourglass?” Ahmya asked.

“Yeah. Most of the message was covered by the bloodstain, remember? And if you mirror what he was trying to draw in your head, it kinda looks like an hourglass, right?”

Miko thought to himself. “...Yes...As a matter of fact, it sort of does.”

“Ohhh yeah!” Amai agreed. “It kinda looks like that symbol on the door to Saiko’s lab!”

The courtroom went silent.

It was at this point that she realised what just came out of her mouth.

“...WAIT A SECOND!”

Rantaro nodded. “Exactly. Instead of writing anything, Kaoru tried to draw the symbol on Saiko’s lab door.”

Ayano hummed thoughtfully. “That does make sense...Using an implicating symbol rather than a string of letters would be a lot less likely for the killer to notice.

“Yeah,” Kokoro agreed. “And because of all the blood covering it, we didn’t realise that it WASN’T a letter until now!” She groaned. “Dammit! If we realised that sooner, this would’ve been so much easier!”

Rantaro sighed. “...Yeah, preaching with the choir there...Either way,” He turned back to Saiko. “His dying message was a symbol that implicates you specifically. Is that enough proof for you?”

“T-that doesn’t mean anything! Because of that bloodstain, you can’t prove that claim for sure!” Saiko argued. “Those could just be some random lines that just LOOK like an hourglass for all we know!”

Rantaro shook his head. “No. They’re not random. Kaoru _saw_ the killer, remember?”

“That’s why he drew that thing in the first place, isn’t it?” Sachiko agreed.

“Yeah, precisely. So his message wouldn’t have been a bunch of random lines. How would randomly drawing lines help us, anyway?”

He sighed.

“Kaoru always just wanted to help us...He most likely wanted to tell us who the killer was in the little time he had left before the rope dragged him up...So that message definitely wasn’t random.”

He turned his eyes to Saiko in a cold glare. “He drew something to tell us who the killer was, and that something just so happens to implicate YOU, Saiko. As much as I hate to admit it, you HAVE to be the killer!”

“WHAT!?” Saiko exclaimed. “You can’t be serious! I-I’m not the killer! You should know that!”

“I want to believe you, but...After finding out about the rope fibres and what that symbol meant...” He sighed and shook his head. “...I can’t deny it anymore.”

“What the fuck is THAT supposed to mean!? We’re meant to be in this together!” He pointed a threatening finger at Kokoro. “That BITCH just twisted your view of the case!”

Kokoro took a step back. “WHAT did you just call me!?”

“You LIED to force a confession! Isn’t that VERY unreliable!? I should know! I’ve studied enough cases during different time periods where lawyers did exactly that!”

“Y-you still confessed something!”

“As I keep saying, it was just a guess! And that message is just a coincidence!”

Ahmya raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t Rantaro literally just go over why that message _wasn’t _a coincidence?”

“I DIDN’T **ASK** FOR YOUR OPINION, CYCLOPS!”

Ahmya stiffened, taking a step back. “..._What_ did you just say to me…!?”

“I DON’T _CARE!_ YOU IDIOTS ALL HAVE IT COMPLETELY WRONG! I’M **NOT **THE KILLER, AND THERE’S NO MORE EVIDENCE THAT PROVES IT-!”

“**_NO, THAT’S WRONG!_”**

Saiko stopped and whipped his head back around to face Rantaro.

Rantaro was pointing an accusing finger straight at him.

“That’s wrong and you know it.”

“W- HOW is that wrong!?” Saiko argued. “There’s no more evidence that says I’m the killer!”

“There is.” Rantaro continued. “Remember, Kaoru wasn’t the only one who saw the killer.”

He nodded in Jasper’s direction.

Saiko froze.

Jasper, after being silent for most of the accusation, opened one eye. “...Hm?”

“Don’t play any of your bullshit games, Jasper. You were listening.” Rantaro said. “You saw the killer, remember?”

Jasper shrugged. “I did. What about it?”

“Well? Am I right?”

Jasper raised an eyebrow quizically.

“H-he’s been lying for practically the entire trial!” Saiko stuttered. “How are we supposed to believe him!?”

“For someone who’s apparently innocent,” Kokoro pointed out. “You sure are squirming a lot right now.”

Jasper sighed. “Remember what I said earlier about Monokuma not wanting to end the trial too early? I’m pretty sure that even if I told you who the killer was now, Monokuma would have me shot or something.”

“T-there! How is that meant to prove anything!?” Saiko argued.

Rantaro sighed. “I had a feeling that wasn’t gonna work...But the fact that Jasper saw the killer _does_ help prove that you’re the killer in a different way.”

“How the hell is THAT supposed to work!? If Jasper’s refusing to say who the killer is, how does that prove it was me!?”

Jasper seemed to realised what Rantaro meant, however.

“...Oooooohhhh.” He smiled. “Not bad.”

“W- not bad!? What do you mean, not bad!? That doesn’t prove anything!”

“Remember what I said earlier about the fact that since you were the second-last person to arrive, you would’ve had enough time to set everything up?” Rantaro explained. “Kokoro said earlier that Jasper wouldn’t have been able to leave the stage room while the killer was preparing anything in case they saw him.”

His eyes narrowed into a cold glare.

“_And Jasper just so happened to arrive right after you did.”_

Saiko stopped. “W-what...!?”

“If the killer was someone else at the meeting, it would have benefited him more to arrive after them rather than being the last person to arrive, wouldn’t it? So if the killer was someone else, why did he just so happen to arrive right after you?”

He tensed. “T-that’s just-!”

“A coincidence? So you’re saying that, with both the fact that you knew about the rope fibres and that Kaoru’s dying message specifically implicates you and only you, is all a coincidence? Because it’s sounding a lot less like a coincidence to me, Saiko. But go ahead. Care to explain yourself?”

Saiko’s eyes darted around the room nervously. “U-uh…!”

“What’s the problem? Cat got your tongue? Or have you finally run out of excuses?”

Saiko didn’t reply.

The courtroom was almost completely silent for a few seconds.

“...So...That’s it?” Haruto started. “Saiko’s the killer?”

Miko shook his head. “...I don’t want to believe this...”

Jasper hummed thoughtfully. “It might be a good idea to go over everything one more time. There might still be people who don’t understand how everything fits together.”

Ayano gave him a confused look. “...But we just figured out everything. Who is there that wouldn’t understand?”

“Never mind that. Either way, we should still try to go through the case again.”

“...I...” Kokoro started. “...Think I see what he’s saying? If we go through the case together and everything fits just right, then we’ll have gotten it right, I think.”

Jasper nodded. “Yeah, exactly.” He turned to Rantaro. “Hey, Ran-Ran, care to do the honours?”

“What did I tell you about calling me that?” Rantaro said, annoyed. “Also, why me?”

“Well, you were the one who figured it all out.” Kokoro answered.

“You were the one who got him to confess in the first place!”

“But that was just one thing! You figured out everything else! It only seems right that you finish this by putting it all together, right?”

Rantaro slowly nodded. “...Yeah, that does make sense...”

“So...Care to begin?”

Rantaro tensed, clenching his fists.

_I don’t want to do this...I know I swore that I’d bring down bastard that killed Kaoru, if I do this and prove Saiko guilty, then he’ll have to go through whatever Monokuma’s punishment is...I might never see him again…_

_But…_

_I need to do this._

He nodded. “Let’s do this. Allow me to reveal the truth.

This murder case likely started as a result of the motive Monokuma handed out yesterday. The killer, feeling threatened by the motive, felt like they had to kill someone, and chose Kaoru as their target.

However, they weren’t the only one with a murder plan, as Jasper was targeting Amai at the same time.

That night, Jasper wrote an anonymous note to Amai to meet in the stage room at 7am the next day; an hour before the morning announcement. This would have given him enough time to kill her and head back to the group’s meeting without anyone suspecting a thing.

At the same time, the killer must have made similar arrangements to meet Kaoru in a different place at a similar time. The killer also had a plan with the stage room, but little did they know that both their and Jasper’s plans would collide.

The next morning, the killer met with Kaoru in their specified meeting area, but not before stealing a sharp knife from the kitchen and some anaesthetic and a syringe from the nurse’s office.

When they saw him, they drugged him with the anaesthetic to knock him out.

While this was going on, Jasper was setting up his own plan in the stage room, using both a heavy sandbag and a different syringe of cyanide poison, which he got from...Who knows where.

You see, his plan was to knock out Amai using the sandbag and to inject her with the cyanide when she was down, killing her. So he propped up the sandbag on top of the door, and stacked up a number of crates nearby the door to hide behind, before lying in wait for her to come in.

Amai eventually came in for her meeting, but as soon as she opened the door, the sandbag crashed down onto her head, knocking her out.

Everything was going to plan for Jasper, but just before he could slip out and finish the job…

Our real killer walked in, with an unconscious Kaoru in tow.

It just so happened that our killer’s plan needed two people, so they decided to use Amai while she was still there.

You see, the killer’s plan was to set up an elaborate Rube Goldberg device using the lighting fixture, that would cause Kaoru to fall to his death.

To start, they left Kaoru on the stage and, using the knife they stole from the kitchen, inflicted two deep cuts across his arms. This was likely to act as a failsafe; if he didn’t die from the fall, he would still die from blood loss.

Then they carried Amai backstage, and readied some thick rope and a crash mat; two items that are readily available backstage, likely for stunts and moving setpieces.

The killer laid the crash mat right on the back of the stage, below where the back of the lighting fixture was. Then they took Amai and the rope and climbed up on top of the lighting fixture using a nearby ladder.

Then they tied Amai up with the rope and threaded the rest of the rope through the fixture’s crosspieces to the front of the stage, where Kaoru was.

They got back down and left the knife and the syringe backstage. The fact that they were left there was likely a blunder on their part, as they probably wanted to find a better way to dispose of them and forgot about it while setting up the rest of the trap.

Anyway, they went back to the front of the stage and tied Kaoru up with the rest of the rope, completing their death trap.

The killer created an elaborate trap like this because it would allow them to leave, confident in knowing that the Rube Goldberg device they set up would do the dirty work for them with nobody suspecting a thing.

And that’s just what they did. They left the stage room to go to our meeting without a care, leaving everyone none the wiser.

...Or that’s what they thought. As they never realised that Jasper watched them set up the whole thing.

Not too long after all this, both them and Jasper arrived at our meeting.

When we realised that Amai was missing, Jasper immediately suggested we split up to find her, suggesting the stage room as a possible place she could be.

Was this some twisted version of giving us a hint? Possibly.

But while this was all going on, the anaesthetic Kaoru was drugged with was starting to wear off.

He realised his situation and, knowing he didn’t have much time left, freed his right arm and decided to use his last moments to help us.

Using his own blood, he wrote – or rather, drew – us a dying message:

An hourglass. The symbol on the door to the killer’s lab.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have much longer to say anything else, as the trap was already being set into motion…

Because backstage, Amai inevitably fell forward, finally setting the killer’s trap off.

She fell forward and landed onto the crash mat set up below.

But, since her and Kaoru were tied to the same rope, he got dragged up, sealing his fate.

It was likely at this point when Sachiko, Kokoro, Jasper and I came in looking for Amai.

Before we could react, the rope holding Kaoru up snapped, and he fell to his death right in front of us.

We were all horrified by what we had just witnessed, but I can imagine the killer was breathing a sigh of relief that their plan worked…

But...It’s all over.

Saiko...It has to be you.”

Nobody said anything at first. Rantaro had laid everything out, plain and simple. But...It was still way too much for everyone to take in.

Saiko didn’t reply either. He had forced his eyes shut, and his balled-up fists were shaking.

“So?” Rantaro asked. “Any objections?”

“...Any...Objections…?”

Saiko looked back up to glare at him.

“OF FUCKING _COURSE _I HAVE OBJECTIONS!”

Rantaro sighed, giving him a look of semi-pity.

“...Saiko, we know you’re the killer. You’re just making a fool of yourself now. Just...Stop it already.”

Saiko looked like he was about to say something else, but stopped. He looked back down to the floor and forced his eyes shut again.

“…N...Ngh...”

“...Do you not have a rebuttal?” Rantaro asked.

Saiko didn’t answer.

_So that’s it then…_ Rantaro thought.

_I know I promised that I was going to find the bastard who murdered Kaoru and bring them down, but…_

_Saiko was my friend...Dammit, I l-_

Rantaro’s train of thought was interrupted by Jasper.

“So it looks like we’re done here.” He said with a smile. “Well done, Ran-Ran. I knew you had it in you.”

Rantaro didn’t look back up at him. “...Jasper, please...Not now...”

“Upupu...” Monokuma laughed, reminding everyone else of his presence. “It looks like we’ve finally reached our verdict! So, is everyone ready to cast their votes?”

“Our...Votes?” Kokoro asked.

“Weren’t you paying attention to the rules? Everyone has to vote for the culprit!”

As if on cue, small screens folded out from everyone’s podiums. The screens had 14 boxes depicting each student (with Kaoru’s greyed out with a pink X across it) and a button saying “confirm your vote”.

And next to the button was a timer, set for 60 seconds.

Miko jumped back. “W-what’s all this!?”

“Aw, relaaaax!” Monokuma replied. “I keep forgetting you’re new to the whole modern technology thing...Anyway, this is your voting grid! This will allow you to vote for who you think the culprit is! Just remember, if you don’t vote, you will also receive punishment, so make sure to vote for your culprit in time!” He laughed. “Upupu...Will you pick the right one, or the dreadfully wrong one~? Upupupu! Voting time begins NOW!”

With that, the timers started counting down.

Miko jumped back again. “G-gaah!”

“It’s okay,” Ayano reassured. “You just need to tap the culprit’s box and press the button.” She casually cast her vote, with a “ding” sounding as a result. “Like this.”

“Wa-wa-wait, what if we got something wrong!?” Amai stuttered. “We could’ve just jumped to conclusions or missed something!”

“Dammit, we have no time to think about that!” Haruto fretted.

Yuuma grimaced. “I don’t think we have a choice…! We need to vote now!”

“I-I can’t do this…!” Miko put both hands to his head and panicked. “_I can’t do this!_”

While the others were panicking, Rantaro uneasily looked down at his voting grid.

His finger was hovering over Saiko’s box.

_Can I really do this…?_

Eventually, he took a deep breath and tapped the box, and pressed the button to lock in his vote.

With a similar “ding” to when Ayano cast her vote earlier, the voting grid folded away.

The same sound echoed throughout the courtroom, signifying that everyone else had cast their vote.

Monokuma grinned. “Attention, everyone! The votes are in! Now, let’s see the result!”

A screen was lowered down behind him, and it lit up to show the result.

A unanimous vote for Saiko.

However, Rantaro couldn’t help but notice that there were only 12 votes when there should have been 13.

_He didn’t even vote?_

The screen folded back away.

Monokuma laughed.

“Upupupu~! Now that all of your votes have been counted, I can now say that you got it…

RIGHT! The killer of the sweet Ultimate Paediatrician Kaoru Odayaka, was none other than the Ultimate Historian, Saiko Aishi!”

A heavy silence hung over the room as Monokuma confirmed it.

_...It was over._

_Saiko was guilty._

_Saiko._

_Was._

_Guilty._

Rantaro turned over to see how he was taking this.

Saiko’s arms were folded and he was looking down and away from everyone else.

“...So...” Rantaro started. “...You did kill him. You murdered Kaoru.”

Saiko didn’t reply.

Miko put a hand to his mouth. “...I...I don’t believe this...”

“You son of a BITCH!” Sachiko exclaimed. “What the FUCK is wrong with you!?”

Saiko didn’t reply.

“We know you’re the killer.” Ayano said coldly. “There’s no point in pleading the fifth now.”

“Who said I was doing that?” He replied with an equally cold tone.

Ayano tilted her head, bemused. “Huh…?”

Saiko sighed. “Alright. Fine. I killed him. Happy now?”

_What the fuck…!?_

Rantaro clenched his fist.

“Of COURSE I’m not happy now!”

Saiko turned to face him. “What?”

“We PROMISED we weren’t gonna kill anyone, remember!? We’re FRIENDS, dammit! YOU BETRAYED ME!!!”

Saiko didn’t reply. He turned his gaze back to the ground.

“Why the hell did you do it..!? Why did you kill Kaoru!? ANSWER ME!”

Saiko sighed.

“...Isn’t it obvious?...The motive.”

“The...Motive?” Kokoro asked. “You mean the ones Monokuma gave us, right? Something or someone important to us that would be at stake if we stayed trapped here too long.”

Saiko nodded. “Yeah. That’s it.”

_Of course… _Rantaro recalled. _He did seem particularly agitated by his motive when Monokuma gave them to us…_

_...If it was enough to kill Kaoru, it better be fucking good._

“So?” Rantaro asked. “What was it?”

Saiko grimaced and forced his eyes shut.

“...That all my life’s work would be at stake...”

Rantaro froze.

“...What.”

“Everything I had spent my life building up to was at stake! If I stayed trapped here too long, all of my years of work would have been wasted!”

_...Is...Is he fucking serious right now...!?_

Ayano hummed thoughtfully. “...I assume you saw Kaoru as an easy target. After his panic attack when he received his motive, you knew he would be desperate. So he was an easy out to you, wasn’t he?”

Saiko didn’t reply.

Rantaro’s fists tensed.

“...So let me get this straight. You were willing to murder Kaoru – who hadn’t done ANYTHING to ANYONE…Just because you valued your work above him…!?”

“…...Well when you put it like that-”

Rantaro punched Saiko right in the face.

Saiko staggered back from the punch and fell to the floor. Rantaro was about to go in for a second hit when Kokoro darted behind him and restrained him.

“Rantaro, stop it!” She begged as he struggled against her grip.

“LET GO OF ME! THAT FUCKER HAS IT COMING!”

Saiko didn’t say anything. He just watched Rantaro fighting against the smaller girl’s grip with wide eyes, likely still reeling from the punch.

“Rantaro listen, I-” He started.

“NO. DON’T YOU **DARE** TRY TO EXPLAIN YOURSELF HERE! YOU MURDERED KAORU! YOU LITERALLY CONSIDERED HIS LIFE TO BE WORTH LESS THAN YOUR WORK!” He continued trying to get out of Kokoro’s hold. _“LET GO OF ME!”_

She refused. “No! I’m not gonna- GAH!”

Before she could finish, Jasper had striked her shoulder with a swift chop to force her to drop him.

“Didn’t you hear him?” He said coldly. “He told you to let go.”

Rather than go in for the second blow as he intended to, Rantaro fell to the ground on his knees when Kokoro dropped him.

He couldn’t stop the tears budding in the corners of his eyes.

“...I can’t believe...I ever felt about you like this...”

Saiko’s eyes widened. “...What?”

“...I always knew you wouldn’t feel the same way, but...Why…!?...Even now, after everything you said, I...”

He looked back up to him.

“Saiko, I l-”

“Aw, come off it!”

Rantaro stopped as soon as Monokuma interrupted him.

“As much as I loooooove watching you in despair – I really do!” He continued. “You’ve been dragging the tearjerker stuff on for waaay too long! I can’t let you put a damper on the action, so let’s get rolling!” A grin spread across his face. _“It’s punishment time!”_

“...Punishment time…?” Rantaro echoed.

“The rules, remember? If you correctly identify the culprit, they will receive punishment! Plain and simple! I’m a bear of justice, after all.”

“Oh, so you’re gonna punish me?” Saiko asked, getting back up and turning to face the bear. “What are you gonna do, lock me up in a 19th century prison cell? Well you’re gonna have to do better than that, ‘cause I’ve studied enough of that period to know how to get out one of those.”

“Ohh?” Monokuma cocked his head. “What makes you think that?”

“...You never said what the punishment was? And last I checked, murders get locked up for life. Or are you really that stupid to think otherwise?”

Monokuma burst out laughing.

Saiko immediately got unnerved. “...H-hey, what’s so funny!?”

“Oh...You’re not getting locked up anywhere.”

“W-what!? What’re you-!?”

“You see, you’re in my world now! This is a world of eye for eye and tooth for tooth, and here, I’m the judge, jury, and, quite literally...”

His red eye glowed and he flashed a sharp-toothed grin.

“..._The executioner._”

Saiko froze.

“...W...WHAT!?”

It finally dawned on everyone what Monokuma’s punishment actually was.

“...Execution…!?” Rantaro started, in shock. “W-wait, hold on…!”

“Aw, you should’ve known, shouldn’t ya?” Monokuma said with a smile. “After all, YOU were the ones who all voted for him, weren’t you~?”

“B-but that’s not fair!” Kokoro argued, terrified. “We didn’t know what the punishment was! You made us all unknowingly sentence him to death!”

“Oh boo hoo! Too bad!”

Jasper’s reaction, as usual, was very muted. “...Oh.”

“Y-you can’t actually be serious, right!?” Saiko stuttered. “H-he’s not actually gonna kill me, is he!?”

“Of course I am!” Monokuma replied cheerily. “You killed someone, so you’re gonna get punished! That’s the rules!”

Saiko was panicking now, backing away from Monokuma with his arms raised defensively. “W-wait! No, hold on a second!”

“Now then, I have a very special punishment prepared for Saiko Aishi, the Ultimate Historian! This shit has gone on long enough, so let’s begin!”

“N-no! Please, stop it!”

“Now, let’s give it _EVERYTHING WE’VE GOT!_” Monokuma whipped out a gavel, and twirled it in his hand as a button appeared in front of his throne. “_IIIIIT’S __**PUNISHMENT TIME!!!!!!**__”_

“Please! STOP IIIIIIIIIT!!!”

He slammed the gavel on the button.

_ **GAME OVER** _

_ **Saiko has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!** _

Before anyone could react, a hidden door near the back of the trial room swung open, and a clamp attached to a chain shot out, making a beeline towards Saiko.

Before he could even cry for the others to save him, the clamp snapped around his neck and dragged him through the doorway, which soon slammed shut.

The doorway was dark and long, and Saiko desperately dug the heels of his boots into the ground in order to slow the chain’s pull.

It didn’t work. The hallway got longer and longer.

Eventually, when it seemed that the hall would never end, it dragged him out into what looked like daylight, with the concrete floor turning into a dirt track.

Monokuma was pulling the chain by a horse-drawn carriage, whipping the horses (which were similarly coloured in black and white) to go faster and faster.

Before Saiko could react, the clamp suddenly released him, and he was thrown into a cinderblock prison tower, with the drawbridge-style door slamming shut behind him.

Wincing from the hard landing, Saiko attempted to take in his surroundings in the torchlit room, but before he could do anything, another Monokuma popped up in front of him.

A Monokuma wearing an executioner’s hood and wielding an equally fitting axe.

“_**Capital Punishment: Ordeal by Death!” - Saiko Aishi, Ultimate Historian’s execution**_

The executioner Monokuma slashed the axe at Saiko. He was able to dodge before he lost any limbs, but the blade cut his hairtie and necklace loose and grazed across his shoulder.

The executioner Monokuma evidently wasn’t done, as he went in for another slash, which Saiko also managed to dodge just in time.

And another.

And another.

And another.

Eventually, he accidentally slashed the rope keeping the door shut, causing the door to slam open, revealing the dark sky outside.

Saiko saw this as an escape, and sprinted out before the executioner Monokuma with his heavy axe could catch up to him.

As he kept running through the plains, a cliched Victorian village began to take shape around him, with buildings folding up around him like a pop-up book.

And with these buildings, came villagers. Or, rather, more Monokumas dressed as the kind of peasant villagers you’d see in a movie.

A number of these villagers assembled in an angry mob to block his path.

One of them cried “Kill him!”

Saiko panicked and started sprinting in the other direction.

The mob chased after him, throwing rocks at him and chanting.

“Kill him! Burn the witch! Make him suffer!”

Saiko still kept running, but was eventually stopped by two more muscular Monokumas dressed in royal guard attire.

He had nowhere else to run.

A stake with firewood around it appeared in a clearing in the village.

It didn’t take long for Saiko to guess what this was for.

One of the guard Monokumas grabbed him and tied him to the stake, and the villagers cheered as the other set the firewood ablaze.

The fire began to climb up the firewood as Saiko attempted to struggle against the rope restraining him.

If the fire was able to burn enough of the rope away, then maybe-

Before he could finish his train of thought, he heard someone leaping up behind him.

He turned around.

The executioner Monokuma had leapt up behind him and was just about to swing his axe.

He screamed.

The executioner Monokuma swung his axe and sliced his head clean off.

The rope binding his body burned away, and the now decapitated body of what was once Saiko Aishi crashed to the ground, as the firewood behind it was fully enveloped in flames.

“AHAHAHAHAHA!” Monokuma laughed. “My adrenaline is pumping outta control! Consider the killing game’s first execution a SUCCESS! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

The atmosphere was almost suffocating.

Nobody could look away from the screen that had just displayed Saiko’s death, even after the screen had long gone black.

No language whatsoever could describe what Rantaro felt.

Horror, heartbreak, tragedy...Those were nothing compared to helplessly watching someone being decapitated as they were being burned at the stake.

It didn’t take long before someone started crying. Miko crashed to his knees and put his hand over his mouth as tears gushed from his eyes.

“...I can’t take this! I can’t take this anymore!” He choked between sobs.

“W-” Kokoro started. “What the hell WAS that!?”

“Oh, that?” Monokuma replied. “That’s what awaits you if you’re found guilty! And this one went perfectly!”

“H-how can you be so happy right now!? Someone just died!”

“Oh? Isn’t he the one you _wanted_ to die? You all voted for him, remember?”

“We never WANTED you to kill him! We didn’t know he was gonna die!”

“Upupu! This I just what I love to see! Despair flowing out of all of you...I love it! Ahahahahaha!”

“T-this is…!” Haruto started. “What Saiko did was unforgivable, but that was…!”

“Holy fucking shit...” Sachiko said breathlessly.

Yuuma was struggling to stand, holding onto his podium for support. “O-oh god, I think I’m gonna be sick…!”

Everyone seemed to have similar horrified reactions.

Except Jasper. He was just...Staring at the screen with either confusion or sick amusement.

Rantaro, however, couldn’t take it anymore.

Before he knew it he had shoved Kokoro out of the way and was making a beeline to the elevator.

“W- Rantaro, wait!”

He ignored her and ran into the elevator, just barely making out Monokuma saying something about it being late and how everyone should get some rest as the doors slammed shut.

He had no idea how he felt as the elevator whirred upwards.

He felt...Conflicted.

Saiko was apparently really just a disgustingly self-centred person, but...He still felt like…

The elevator doors opened to the main foyer, and Rantaro darted out and ran for his dorm.

When he got there, he slammed the door shut and locked it behind him before collapsing onto his bed.

He was crying.

He was crying over a murderer.

A murderer he...Still cared about.

As he screamed out his frustrations and agony to nobody in particular, he finally found a word to what he was feeling earlier.

Despair.

True, utter despair.

**Chapter 1: Dragged Across Heaven’s Boundary – completed!**

Students remaining: 12

Rantaro Amami – Ultimate Adventurer

Kokoro Hikari – Ultimate Lucky Student

Jasper Shion – Ultimate ???

<strike>Saiko Aishi – Ultimate Historian</strike>

Amai Akuma – Ultimate Digital Artist

Rikona Fumiko – Ultimate Chess Player

<strike>Kaoru Odayaka – Ultimate Paediatrician</strike>

Haruto Sora – Ultimate Broadway Actor

Sachiko Akahana – Ultimate Delinquent

Ayano Sunako – Ultimate Physicist

Miko Tsunade – Ultimate Bladesmith

Ahmya Aika – Ultimate Archer

Yuuma Todoroki – Ultimate Jeweller

Tsumugi Shirogane – Ultimate Confectioner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, chapter 1 comes to a bitter close.  
(yeah I HAD to bring the angst here. I just had to.)  
Not gonna lie, writing Saiko's execution was HARD. It was literally one of the hardest executions to come up with for this story. (Like seriously, what is a creative way to execute a historian) Hopefully the execution doesn't suck too much. Oh well  
Anyway, as for chapter 2, things will be turned up.  
I hope you all enjoyed! And again, thank you all so much for reading chapter 1 to the end!  
(please leave your reactions/screaming in the comments!)


	12. This is (Not) Okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone was hit hard by the events of the previous day. Rantaro was definitely hit the hardest, as he lost two close friends in one fell swoop. But even as a new friend decides to try and help him, the future of the killing game seems uncertain...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry that this chapter took so long! I had to design three more labs (as well as another room uwu) and in general starting a new story arc is hard.  
Either way, I hope you enjoy!

Rantaro was barely able to sleep.

How could you sleep with the sound of a defenceless boy screaming as he fell to his death and the sight of the person you thought you trusted most getting their head sliced off with an axe playing over and over again in your mind?

And those weren’t even the worst thing he had to deal with.

He also had to constantly remember that he had the chance to do something about it.

Maybe if he had tried to get Kaoru to gain more confidence and worry less about Monokuma, he wouldn’t have been so easily tricked by Saiko.

Maybe if he just _talked_ to Saiko a little more, he would’ve convinced him not to murder just for the sake of saving face.

He should’ve done something.

He didn’t do anything.

Both of their deaths were _his fault_.

DING-DONG-DONG-DING!

“Goooood morning, students! It is now 8am, which means it’s time to rise and shine! So get up and seize the day! Upupu!”

_Go fuck yourself._

Even though he still had no idea about what was going to happen now, Rantaro definitely knew one thing for sure.

He was _not_ leaving his room.

No matter what happened, he’d be faced with both Monokuma’s sadistic game and the fact that he didn’t do anything about it as soon as he walked out the door.

He already had both Saiko and Kaoru’s deaths weighing on his conscience. He didn’t want to deal with anything else.

And most of all, he didn’t want to face everyone after what happened.

After all, like Kokoro said, he was the one who lead everyone through the trial.

Because of that, _he_ was the one who gave Saiko his death sentence.

How was he meant to face everyone knowing that?

That settled it. He wasn’t leaving his room.

_...Wait…_

_If I don’t try to escape, then I won’t be able to save them, will I?_

…

_What’s the point. I’m enough of a useless older brother letting myself get trapped here when I could be searching for them, anyway._

_Hell, they could be dead for all I know._

…

_I guess that’s even more people who have died by my ha-_

There was a knock at the door.

Rantaro sighed. _Perfect._

He decided to ignore it. Maybe he was just hearing things.

Whoever was on the other side knocked again.

“Hey, Rantaro,” They said from outside. “I know you’re in there. Open up.”

_Ugh…_

“Kokoro, leave me alone.” Rantaro replied bluntly.

“...Ahahah...Uh...Not quite.”

…

_Allow me to rephrase that._

“Haruto, leave me alone.”

“Hell no I’m not leaving! I am not leaving you until you come out of this door!”

Rantaro shook his head and sighed.

_For fuck’s sake…_

He reluctantly pulled himself up – quickly running his fingers through his hair and fixing his makeup so that it wasn’t running anymore; he had to at least LOOK presentable – and opened the door.

Haruto, waiting at the other side, took a slight step back when Rantaro opened the door.

Out of everyone at the academy, the Ultimate Broadway Actor was one of the last people Rantaro expected to be in this position. He would’ve thought Kokoro would’ve been the one pestering him to come downstairs, or even Jasper would be standing in the doorframe and coercing him into following him. (like he’d do that after what he found out in the trial.)

But sure enough, Haruto was the one at the other side of the door. He had his hand against his hip, almost impatiently, but was eyeing Rantaro with slight concern.

Rantaro folded his arms. “Okay. I’ve opened the door. Happy now?”

Haruto sighed. “You know what my answer’s gonna be.”

“Let me guess. You came up here to get me to come downstairs with you.”

Haruto stopped, startled. “...Uh...” He quickly regained his footing. “I just got worried when you ran off like that last night. I wanted to check on you to see if you were oka-”

“Well tough luck. I’m not coming down.”

“What!? Why are you saying that!?”

“Don’t you remember what happened yesterday!? I watched two people die!”

“Of course, but you need to-!”

“No, you don’t get it! I could’ve done something, couldn’t I!? But I didn’t! Now I have both Saiko and Kaoru’s blood on my hands! I did _nothing_ when Kaoru died, and I literally sentenced someone I thought I trusted to _death!_”

Haruto’s eyes widened in shock as he took a step back.

Rantaro realised he might have gotten a bit too heated.

“...I’m sorry...This is just, really complicated...”

Haruto sighed, pulling his hat down a little.

“I get that. You two were close, right? You and Saiko, I mean.”

Rantaro nodded. “...I thought I trusted him...If I had just _talked_ to him after we got the motive, he wouldn’t have-!”

“Whoa, whoa! Stop that talk right there!”

Rantaro stopped. “Huh?”

“I don’t know much about this kinda thing, but blaming yourself for what happened isn’t gonna help at all! What happened to Kaoru and Saiko isn’t your fault, and you don’t have any blood on your hands. Got that?”

Rantaro didn’t say anything at first.

Then he sighed and folded his arms, resting on the doorframe.

“Since when did you suddenly care about me?”

Haruto gave him a smile. “I’m just trying to help out a friend.”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “...We’re already on that level?”

Haruto shrugged. “If you say so.”

“What, so you’re still quick to consider me your friend even after everything that happened?”

“Hell yeah!”

Rantaro stopped.

_Even after finding out someone we all trusted was a murderer last night, Haruto still wants to trust me just like that?_

…

_Is he trying to fill the void Saiko left when he died?_

_...Possibly…_

Rantaro sighed, and managed to give him a small smile.

“...Alright. If you say so.”

Haruto seemed happy. “Great! So you gonna come with me?”

He nodded. “Sure. Why not?”

Despite the fact that everyone was there, the atmosphere in the dining hall as Haruto led Rantaro in was almost suffocating.

Nobody was talking and a lot of people weren’t even making eye contact with each other.

Understandable. Everyone had essentially been to two rapidfire funerals not even a day ago.

However, as soon as Rantaro walked in, all eyes in the room immediately turned in his direction.

Haruto didn’t seem disturbed by this in the slightest – he’s an _actor,_ he’s probably used to having all eyes in a room on him – but Rantaro was unnerved.

He never really liked the feeling of knowing that everyone was looking at you.

Rantaro sighed. _Per__f__ect. Just what I didn’t want to happen._

Kokoro’s eyes lit up as soon as she saw him. “R-Rantaro! You’re here!”

Rantaro walked over to an empty seat at the table. “...Hey.”

When he realised there were only ten people at the table when there were fourteen a few days ago, his heart sank a little.

_...Wait. Ten?_

_There’s meant to be twelve. Why are there only ten?_

A quick glance sideways answered his question.

Tsumugi wasn’t sitting with them. She was sitting at a different table in a shadowy area of the dining hall, flicking her ponytail and flashing the occasional glare at him.

_...Figures._

_So that just leaves…_

He quickly scanned the faces around the table, eventually confirming his suspicions.

Jasper wasn’t here either.

_...Good. I’d rather keep it that way._

“Uh...Rantaro?”

“Hm?” Rantaro turned back over to Kokoro, who had apparently been trying to get his attention.

She was giving him a concerned look. “Are you okay?”

If it had been a few days ago, Rantaro would have forced a smile and said that he was fine and that she shouldn’t be worrying about how he felt.

But now, someone he thought he cared about had murdered someone he considered a friend.

So he didn’t.

Instead he sighed and eyed the ground.

“...I don’t know...Everything that happened last night was a lot to take in...”

Everyone at the table seemed to agree.

Kokoro frowned, nodding solemnly. “...It really was...Neither of them deserved this...”

“Neither of them?”

Rantaro stopped when he heard Ayano’s voice from across the table. She somehow looked even more tired than usual and had her arms folded.

Her eyes narrowed, her tone cold. “Are you sure about that?”

Rantaro glared. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“While it’s true that Kaoru didn’t deserve his fate...Saiko murdered him, didn’t he?”

“Monokuma PUSHED him into murdering him!” Kokoro argued.

Ayano tilted her head. “Oh? And because of that, he’s excused from what he did to Kaoru?”

Kokoro took a step back. “...That’s...Not what I meant...”

Ayano sighed. “While the fate he ended up with was unnecessarily cruel, Monokuma was simply passing fair judgement for his crime. That’s all.”

“W- _FAIR!?_” Kokoro exclaimed. “How was ANYTHING about what Monokuma did to him fair!?”

“Like I said, his form of judgement was unnecessarily cruel and barbaric. Though the base mechanic is a death for a death. Eye for an eye. You have to be able to take what you’re willing to give.”

“Well sure, but Saiko was our friend, remember?” Rantaro said. “We all trusted him.”

“Exactly. ‘Was’.” Ayano replied nonchalantly.

Rantaro stiffened. “...What the hell do you mean by that?”

“Should we really consider him a friend now? After what he did? He committed a premeditated murder, using a cruelly fashioned Rube Goldberg device no less. Should we really be calling him our friend?”

_What the hell is she saying!? She’s literally casting away all emotion just for the base of a logical solution or something!_

_...Of course. She’s the Ultimate Physicist. It’s only natural that she’s taking an entirely logical approach to this._

_..._

_Could this be her way of coping with everything that happened? By pushing all emotional involvement to the side and treating it logically?_

Kokoro didn’t seem to take Ayano’s approach lying down, however. “A-Ayano, what are you saying!? Murderer or not, Saiko was still our friend! We can’t just cut him off just like that!”

Ayano sighed. “_You_ can’t, at least. In this kind of setup, you have to be able to push emotional attachments to the side to see the bigger picture.”

“You’re not making any sense! You can’t just treat him like he was never your friend in the first place!”

Ayano’s eyes narrowed. “Watch me.”

Before Kokoro could argue back, Yuuma spoke up instead.

“Guys, can we PLEASE save the morality discussion for later?”

He sounded a lot more downcast than usual.

Kokoro stopped. “...Uh-”

“The morals of this whole thing is the last thing I want to think about. The last thing _everyone_ wants to think about, probably.”

“Yuuma’s right.” Rantaro agreed. “You might not agree with her, Kokoro, but just let Ayano cope with this how she wants. And Ayano,” He turned to her. “Sure, you might see it otherwise, but Saiko was still our friend before he died. It’s a lot harder for other people to just decide to cut that attachment off.”

Ayano didn’t reply. She just reclined back in her chair.

“A lot happened yesterday,” Rantaro continued. “And I know it’s hard for everyone to deal with what happened.” He sighed. “Trust me. _I know_.”

He had a feeling that everyone there knew what he meant.

He had taken the brunt of the force during yesterday’s events. He had considered Kaoru a close friend before he was murdered, and Saiko…

…

“Oh please, can we just cut the sentimentality? All this emotional chat is getting dull.”

Rantaro froze as soon as he heard that voice from the doorway.

He turned around, already knowing who would be casually standing in the doorway with the same malicious aura as ever.

Jasper.

His smirk widened when he saw that Rantaro had noticed him.

“Now, why don’t we change the subject?”

Nobody replied.

Everyone addressed Jasper’s arrival with either scared looks or glares.

Jasper’s face fell to a deadpan expression. “Huh. Tough crowd. Was it something I said?”

“Something you DID, more like!” Amai hissed, pointing an accusing finger at him. “Don’t think I forgot what happened yesterday! You tried to kill me!”

“Yeah. ‘Tried to’. Saiko was the one who succeeded.” He sighed. “I didn’t even kill anyone and you guys all hate me, but you’re still willing to consider an actual murderer your friend? Double standards, much?”

“Well, we don’t _hate_ you,” Miko started. “But your actions yesterday weren’t exactly...Moral.”

“Understatement of the century!” Rikona snapped. “That peasant attempted murder and laughed about it like a maniac!”

“Yeah, no.” Jasper said bluntly. “I didn’t laugh about the fact that I tried to kill Amai. I laughed about the fact that all of you were stupid enough not to _guess_ that I tried to kill Amai. And ‘maniac’ is still very insensitive.”

“You ARE a maniac!” Amai argued.

“Oh please, it’s like I said before. You’re willing to dish this treatment onto me, yet you still say Saiko is your friend. Even though he ACTUALLY murdered someone. For his ‘life’s work’ or whatever, no less.”

“T-that’s completely different!” Kokoro argued.

“‘Completely different’?” Jasper echoed incredulously, before bursting into laughter. “He ACTUALLY MURDERED someone! I only TRIED to kill someone! How hard is that for you idiots to see!?”

“Jasper. Shut up.” Rantaro said coldly.

Jasper tilted his head, bemused. “Oh?”

“Saiko deserved to be punished for what he did. And sure, you didn’t kill Amai, but you aren’t out of the hot seat yet.” His eyes narrowed. “You still have Kaoru’s blood on your hands.”

“Oh, me~? Saiko was the one who killed him, remember?”

“True, but you SAW him do it. You could’ve stopped him, and Kaoru wouldn’t have died!”

“And then what, he’d just leave two, possibly three witnesses alive?”

“...What?”

“Don’t be dumb, Ran-Ran. There’s a reason I didn’t leave my hiding place while Saiko set up his trap.”

“Because you’re an asshole?” Ahmya quipped.

“Didn’t ask you. Anyway,” He turned back to Rantaro. “If I tried to help Kaoru, oh no! Saiko would’ve had a witness on his hands! And you can’t have witnesses in a successful murder case, no? So he would’ve took the knife in his hand and...” He drew his finger across his neck while sounding out a slit throat. “And he probably would’ve killed Kaoru anyway to keep him from talking.” He shrugged casually. “No matter what I did, someone still would’ve died.”

Rantaro stiffened.

Like it or not, Jasper did have a point.

“And besides,” He went on. “All of you are no better. You all decided to send him to his death.”

“That’s completely different, Jasper.” Rantaro said. “We didn’t know what Monokuma was gonna do until the last minute.”

“And? You still chose to press that button. In doing that, you all chose to sentence Saiko to death.”

Rantaro grimaced, eyeing the ground.

This was the last thing he wanted to deal with.

“Hey, shut up!” Haruto spoke up. “We’re all going through a lot right now, your talk isn’t helping with anything!”

“Oh?” Jasper started off with a surprised look, but his expression darkened as he folded his arms.

“And what gives _you_ the right to tell me to shut up, Haruto? You were the one who figured out how Saiko’s Rube Goldberg device worked, if I remember correctly. You’re no better than the rest of them.”

“Don’t think I don’t already know that! Yeah, I played a major part in nailing down Saiko as the culprit and may be partially responsible for his death, but that’s not the point here!”

Rantaro stopped.

_Wait, Haruto?_

“The fact that you’re trying to act like it’s OUR fault he died really isn’t helping!” Haruto continued, practically brushing off what he just said entirely. “So why don’t you just shut up unless you have something useful to say!?”

Jasper didn’t say anything for a bit. Then he smirked to himself.

“Heh...Okay, you were one of the LAST people I thought was gonna say something like _that_.”

Haruto frowned and sat back down in his chair.

“Either way,” Jasper continued. “Whether you think it was your fault or not, the killing game is a definitive threat now, isn’t it?”

The room went eerily silent as Jasper continued talking.

Nobody wanted to stand up to him now.

Because they all knew he was right.

“Don’t you see? This isn’t something you can ignore now. You can’t just, oh I don’t know, _**hope**_ your way out of this.” He chuckled to himself. “Ahahahah...I’m interested to see where this heads…!”

“_Interested”?_ Rantaro thought.

_Is…_

_Is this bastard ENJOYING this!?_

_Two people just died, and he’s just acting like it’s a scene from his favourite show or something!_

_What the fuck is wrong with this guy!?_

“Though there are a few things that I noticed on my way here,” Jasper kept talking, getting Rantaro’s attention. “And I figured it might be a good idea to let the rest of you know.”

“Oh?” He asked skeptically. “Then spit it out. Or are you lying?”

“Me~? Lie~? Oh, I would never-!”

“JASPER. SPIT IT OUT.”

“Ugh, fine!” Jasper groaned, rolling his eyes. “You guys are no fun.”

He sighed, pushing his glasses up. “Firstly, there’s now a desk in the main foyer. On the opposite end of where the elevator was.”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “...That’s it?”

“I wasn’t finished. Both Kaoru and Saiko’s Monopad-Minis had been left there.”

Rantaro froze.

“..._What!?_”

“Yeah. They’d just been left there, sitting on that desk. You can check if you don’t believe me.”

“Why would their Monopad-Minis be there?” Kokoro asked.

“So someone had to have taken them off of their bodies, right?” Ahmya proposed.

Rantaro growled under his breath. “Monokuma, no doubt...”

“Yeah, but why would he do that?” Haruto asked. “What use would leaving them on a desk have?”

Before Rantaro could answer – he didn’t have an answer, anyway – Jasper started talking again.

“Uh, people?” He said, folding his arms and raising an annoyed eyebrow. “Still not finished.”

“We don’t care, Jasper.” Rantaro said coldly. “You can leave now.”

“Alright alright, fine.” Jasper said in mock defence, turning and heading for the door. “I guess you don’t care that the second floor is now open then...”

Kokoro immediately stopped him.

“Waitwaitwait, _WHAT!?_”

Jasper smirked, turning back around. “Knew that wouldn’t last long.”

“The second floor’s OPEN!?”

“Yeah. All those barricades blocking up the second floor are gone. Figured you guys would wanna know.”

“What, did Monokuma take them down on purpose?” Rantaro asked. “Why the hell would he do that!?”

“I think our first question is, why was the second floor even locked in the first place!” Kokoro added.

“Allow me to answer that!” Monokuma chimed in, appearing in front of them.

Some of the group jumped back in alarm when the bear appeared, especially considering what he did to Saiko yesterday.

“And YOU!” Monokuma spun around, pointing an angered finger at Jasper. “You stole my thunder, you purple prick! **I **was meant to announce the opening of the second floor!”

Jasper shrugged, giving Monokuma a casual smile. “Should’ve gotten here faster, then.”

Monokuma growled, before addressing the group again.

“Anyway, he’s right! Starlight Academy’s second floor is now open!”

“Wait, for real!?” Haruto asked. “So Jasper’s not lying!?”

“Yuh-huh! The barricades blocking the second floor have been taken down!” Monokuma puffed out his cheeks triumphantly. “All for your hard work in the class trial!”

“What, so opening the second floor is some kind of...Reward?” Rantaro questioned.

“You got it! I mean, I have to give you _something_ for your AMAZING work investigating and during the trial!” He started clapping, applauding them. “Well done, students! Keep up your work ethic!”

Rantaro grimaced. “...You’re sick.”

“So does this mean you’ll only open a new floor in the event that we complete a trial?” Miko asked.

“Well done, you got the right answer!” Monokuma replied happily. “Of course there are more floors, but I’ll only open ‘em if you continue your hard work!”

Rantaro folded his arms. “Like I said. You’re sick.”

“Yeah!” Kokoro agreed. “If you seriously think there’s gonna be another murder after we saw what you did to Saiko, you’ve got another thing coming!”

Jasper laughed to himself. “Really, Hikari? You still want to believe in hope or whatever, even after what happened last night? That’s priceless!”

“I wasn’t even talking to you!”

“Ugh, can you two keep it down?” Monokuma asked, annoyed. “You’re killing my hype here.”

“You’re not seriously planning on staying here, are you?” Rantaro asked, also annoyed. “The second floor’s open. You’ve said what you needed to say.”

“Ah-ah-aaah! Not quite!” Monokuma replied. “You see, a new floor means new areas for you to explore! And that also means…!”

He whipped out three objects from out of nowhere.

“Tadaaaaa!” He threw the objects towards the table. “Three new research labs!”

The objects – a large diamond-shaped jewel, a sword of some variety and some kind of string – landed on the table.

Well, aside from the jewel, as Yuuma quickly grabbed it before it hit the table.

“W- be careful with that!” He snapped, holding the jewel protectively. “These things are very fragile, you could’ve shattered it!”

Rikona raised an eyebrow. “Okay, no doubt who’s lab THAT opens.”

“What, so we’ll only be able to access the other labs whenever you open up a floor?” Rantaro asked, turning back over to Monokuma. “The floors you’ll only open after we complete a trial?”

Monokuma nodded. “Of course!”

Rantaro grimaced. “I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. You’re sick.”

“Well we should at least have a look around.” Haruto proposed. “On the second floor, I mean. Monokuma did say there were more facilities up there, right?”

“Not to mention the three other labs.” Kokoro added, gesturing to the three new “keys” that Monokuma had given them. “We know the jewel is Yuuma’s, so what about the other two?”

Miko picked up the sword, eyeing it carefully. It looked like it was some kind of longsword with a gold-painted handle.

“Is that thing real?” Ayano asked.

Miko shook his head. “No, it’s a replica. The weight is different from a regular blade and it isn’t made with the right material.” He squinted, taking a closer look, and traced his finger against the edge of the blade. “It seems like it’s made out of some kind of low quality steel...Not to mention the blade itself has been forged too haphazardly to be used. See, the edge should be straight but-”

“Okay, jeez!” Monokuma shouted, annoyed. “If it’s so bad, why not make one yourself or something!?” His expression faded into a smile. “...Geddit?”

Miko snapped back to attention, lowering the replica sword. “...Does this mean that _my_ lab is on the next floor?”

“Okay, so the jewel is for Yuuma’s lab, and the sword is for Miko’s lab,” Rantaro noted. “What about that string?”

“I dunno,” Amai replied. “It just looks like some regular old string to me.”

Ahmya shook her head, taking the string in her hand. “No, it’s not just any old string.”

“Eh? It isn’t?”

She took a closer look at the string, then nodded.

“Just as I thought. This is a bowstring.”

“A bowstring?” Kokoro echoed. “So like the actual string you tie to a bow when you make it?”

Ahmya nodded. “Exactly. This must be for mine.”

“Right, so now we know who the three labs belong to.” Rantaro said. “What are we meant to do now?”

“Go to the second floor, of course.” Jasper and Monokuma answered at the same time.

Monokuma froze, then spun around to face Jasper angrily.

“WHAT’D I SAY ABOUT STEALING MY THUNDER!?”

Jasper raised his arms in mock defence. “I was just answering his question.”

Rantaro sighed and shrugged. “Alright, whatever. It’s not like we have anything better to do, anyway.”

Monokuma looked happy. “Great! Allow me to lead the way!”

“Wait, why?”

“One of the rooms is somewhere important I should tell you about! Once I’ve shown you there, you are free to explore on your own!”

Rantaro rolled his eyes. “Ugh...Fine. Which way is it?”

Everyone followed Monokuma up the stairs to the second floor – with Miko, Ahmya and Yuuma keeping a hold of their “keys”, and with Tsumugi begrudgingly following behind, albeit from a distance.

The new floor didn’t seem too different from the two floors they already had – the walls and flooring were the same colour – but it was still quite a bit to get used to.

While they were walking through the halls, Rantaro noticed two doors next to each other – one painted blue and the other painted pink – with a plaque with a decal of a shower head on it. Both of the doors had some kind of scanner next to them. The others had started to notice the doors as well.

Rantaro sighed. “...Okay, what the hell is this.”

“Eh?” Monokuma stopped walking and turned around, realising that the people following him had gathered around the doors.

“Oh!” He popped back up in front of them. “Why, this is the academy's bathhouse! All the academies I've been to had one! You can access it through the changing rooms,” He gestured to the scanner next to the blue door. “You just need to scan your Monopad-Mini on the scanner.”

“Yes, but why do we need these?” Miko questioned. “We already have showers in our dorm rooms, don’t we?”

There was a general murmur of agreement across the group.

“Yeah,” Jasper agreed, putting his hand on his hip and raising an eyebrow. “What is this for, some kinda tasteless fanservice scene?”

“Whaaaat? Nooo!” Monokuma brushed him off, sweating a little. “I’d _never_ do something like that!”

Everyone deadpanned him.

“...Okay maybe I would-”

“NO.” Everyone said at the same time.

Monokuma pouted. “You’re no fun. Anyway, what I’m wanting to show you is this way!”

Monokuma started tottering off again, prompting everyone to leave the bathhouse doors behind and follow him.

Rikona rolled her eyes, folding her arms. “Seriously, a _bathhouse?_ I appreciate the sentiment, but it’s not like we’re gonna stay here forever!”

“‘Course you are!” Monokuma replied from up front without skipping a beat. “The only way one of you can leave is in the event of someone getting away with murder. Says it pretty clearly in the rules.”

“To hell with that, peasant! I’m not going to stay locked in this building forever!” She smirked to herself. “I have plans, you see!”

“Plans?” Yuuma raised a skeptical eyebrow. “And what, exactly, are these plans?”

“The same plans I’ve had for most of my life!” Rikona continued, puffing out her chest with pride. “To earn enough money from my winnings to buy a castle, and then live out my life in the castle with the perfect wife!”

“Yeah, no. Never gonna happen.”

“What!? Of course it’s gonna happen, peasant!”

Yuuma gave her a smirk. “Not with that entitled attitude it’s not.”

Rikona fumed. “Are you ALWAYS this annoying?”

Yuuma shrugged. “No, but it’s just fun to take little rich brats like you down a peg.” He teasingly pinched her cheek.

“Ow! Get off!” Rikona shoved his hand off. “And you’re one to talk! You own a jewellery company!”

“Yeah. But I had to work for what I have.”

“So did I! You think I _always_ had this!?”

“No, but do you see _me_ acting all hoity-toity about it?”

“Guys, can you quiet down a little?” Rantaro asked.

“Hmph!” Rikona pouted. “Why should I let you tell me what to do, peasa-”

“Yeah no. He’s right.” Yuuma said bluntly.

Both Rantaro and Rikona noticed the unusual bluntness in the usually more upbeat Yuuma’s tone.

Rikona immediately took a few steps back, deciding to give him some space.

_That’s odd…_ Rantaro noted. _He seemed pretty downcast earlier this morning too…_

Eventually Monokuma stopped them at a pair of navy blue double doors. There was a plaque above them, which read…

“‘Arcade’?” Kokoro read aloud. “As in, like, a gaming arcade?”

“You got it!” Monokuma replied, pushing the doors open.

The room that greeted them was pretty big, with a geometric purple carpeted floor and navy blue walls with sparkling dots – likely to represent stars – sparsely dotted across them. The main attraction, of course, were the number of different arcade games and cabinets around the room (one of which being the strange gachapon machine from the rec room), as well as some kind of stall near the back.

Amai practically squealed as soon as Monokuma opened the door.

“THIS IS SO COOL!!!” She immediately ran around to look at the different arcade cabinets.

“Okay, since when do highschools have arcades!?” Rantaro questioned.

“Ah, but this ain’t an ordinary highschool, remember?” Monokuma reminded. “This is an Ultimate Academy! Of course an Ultimate Academy has better facilities than your run-of-the-mill highschool!”

Jasper raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Didn’t you just say you added a bathhouse just because you’ve seen that other adademies have them?”

“Oh, drop it.”

Rantaro decided to take a look at the stall, with Kokoro and Haruto following close behind. Jasper didn’t follow them, but still kept a close eye on them as they walked over to the stall.

The stall was pretty much the same as the prize counters you get in arcades at a boardwalk – you trade tickets (which you likely got from getting a good score from one of the many arcade games) for the prizes on offer. The stall was decorated with these prizes; which included candies, figurines and plushies in different sizes.

Though the prize that drew the most attention – the most expensive of the prizes on offer by far – was a strange ornate key hanging on a rack in a display case.

The key was golden, and the top was shaped like a heart with a ruby gem embedded inside. The display case it was hanging in was almost like themed diorama; the background was painted to look like a pink sky with fluffy white clouds with a dark keyhole superimposed on it. Similar cutouts of white clouds were hanging around the key, as well as two angel wings on either side of the key itself. There was pink text with a white outline printed onto the front of the glass, which read “UNLOCK YOUR FANTASY”.

The key had a strange, almost inviting aura about it.

The three of them didn’t say anything for a bit.

“...Okay,” Rantaro finally said. “I think _all_ of us know what my question is.”

“Yeah,” Haruto pointed to one of the plushies on display. “How many tickets is that blue dog worth?”

“Wh- no! The key!”

“Oh, that looks like it’s worth about ten tho-”

“Not how much it’s worth! What the hell IS it!?”

“Yeah, I’m kinda wondering that too.” Kokoro wondered, squinting at the display case to get a better look. “...It’s kinda making me...Curious...”

“Shouldn’t they have, like, a book or something?” Haruto suggested. “That details what the prizes are?”

Rantaro noticed a paper brochure in a holder on the stall, then picked it up and started flicking through it until he got to the key.

“Let me see...” He started reading.

“‘Love Hotel Key: the most valuable item Monokuma Arcade has to offer. A key leading to a place of greed and lust, with the capability to unlock your true fantasy. You can give it away, but good things could happen to you if you keep it. Are you willing to unlock your deepest desires? 1x = 10000 tickets.’”

Neither of them said anything.

Rantaro sighed and put the brochure back. “...I don’t even want to know what it does now.”

Haruto agreed. “You and me both.”

Kokoro was still staring at the key. “I dunno, I’m still curious-”

“Kokoro, we’re leaving.” Rantaro called out, as him and Haruto were already walking in the other direction.

“But I wanna know what the key does!”

“It sounds really weird and I don’t wanna know, let’s go already!”

“But the keeeeeey-!”

Rantaro had to practically drag Kokoro by her hood to get her to follow them.

She folded her arms and pouted. “You guys are no fun.”

The three of them got back to where the others were.

“Huh, where’d Monokuma go?” Haruto asked.

“The two-toned bastard vanished a few minutes ago.” Sachiko replied bluntly.

“That’s a relief,” Rantaro said with a sigh of, well, relief. “I guess the next thing to do is to find the three labs now.”

“But these all look so much fun!” Amai complained. “I don’t wanna go yet!”

“You can go back after we find and unlock the labs. That’s our priority right now.”

“I think we should just go for the first door we find,” Kokoro suggested. “Since we have no idea where they are, don’t we?”

“That sounds like a plan.” Rantaro turned over to address Ahmya, Miko and Yuuma. “You all still have your keys, right?”

The three of them nodded.

“Good. Let’s go.”

With that, everyone walked out the arcade to find the first door.

The first door they found wasn’t exactly a door.

What they did find was a stone statue of a bow on a stone pillar with ivy climbing across it.

“Right,” Rantaro noted. “I...Assume this is where your lab is, Ahmya.”

Ahmya nodded. “I figured.”

“How are we meant to open the door?” Kokoro asked. “For starters...There isn’t even a door!”

“Perhaps the door is hidden?” Jasper suggested. “And will only show itself once a mechanism is triggered.”

“What, like those secret doors in spy movies?” Amai asked. “Like where the door appears if you pull out a book or tilt a painting or sit in a chair?”

“Exactly like that.”

“Why are you _agreeing_ with this guy?” Yuuma questioned. “He DID try to kill you yesterday.”

Amai shrugged. “He made a good point.”

Yuuma groaned and brought his hand to his head in frustration.

“As much as I don’t want to agree with him,” Ahmya said. “Jasper is probably right.” She pointed at the statue of the bow. “See? This bow doesn’t have a string.”

Kokoro took a closer look. “Oh, you’re right! It doesn’t!”

“And my key just so happens to be a bowstring.” She lifted up her ‘key’ to show them.

“So what,” Haruto asked. “You think the door’s gonna open if you string that bow on the pillar?”

She shrugged. “The facts seem to line up.”

Ahmya walked over to the pillar and, after quickly sizing up the stone bow on display, carefully tied the bowstring to the bow and plucking it a few times to make sure she got the tension right.

Sure enough, when she stepped back, the ground around them began to rumble as the pillar and the bow sunk into the ground, with a floortile popping up to cover the space where it was originally standing.

Almost as soon as that had happened, the wall behind where the pillar split open to reveal a lilac door, with a decal of a bow on it.

The door didn’t have a lock, so one could guess that it was already open.

Ahmya raised an eyebrow. “...Huh. That was easy.”

“That’s a pretty unnecessary way to unlock a door.” Ayano noted.

“Monokuma’s pretty extravagant. I doubt he just wanted to half-ass this. Hell, didn’t Rikona’s lab open with a giant chess piece or something?”

“But didn’t Saiko and Kaoru’s labs both have normal locks?” Miko asked.

Ahmya shrugged, already pushing the door open. “Eh. Whatever. Let’s see what’s inside.”

The room that greeted them was an indoor archery range. The walls were painted a dark faded purple with wooden flooring divided by white sparsely dotted lines between the targets at the end of the room; some of them standing a few feet from the wall and the others attached to the wall. There was a rack on one of the side walls with a number of bows of different sizes, as well as a variety of arrows being held in built-in quivers on the rack.

The room seemed pretty basic at first, but it seemed like that was just the way Ahmya liked it.

She folded her arms and smiled to herself. “Nice.”

“An...Archery range?” Kokoro mused, looking around. “...It seems pretty bare...”

“That’s a good thing. Let’s me focus on shooting.” She was already pulling her bow and an arrow out of the bag on her back. “I’d take a few steps back if I were you.”

“What, why-” Kokoro started, then immediately obliged as soon as she saw Ahmya pulling the arrow back.

She squinted with her one remaining eye to get a better aim of the target she was going for, before releasing the arrow.

The arrow shot off at a great speed, effortlessly striking into the centre of the target.

The others – impressed, albeit a little shocked by how effortlessly Ahmya pulled the shot off – took a simultaneous step back.

Ahmya sighed, and lowered her bow with a slight smile.

“...Yep. Still got it.” She already started to move onto the next target. “You guys go on ahead.”

“What?” Rantaro started.

“You need to find the other two labs, right?” Ahmya continued as she pulled her second arrow back.

“But what about-” He stopped for a few seconds as the arrow found it’s home in the centre of the second target. “...What about you?”

“You guys just go ahead. I’m gonna stay here.”

Haruto shrugged. “Well, you heard her.”

“Right,” Rantaro nodded over to Ahmya. “As long as you’re sure.”

Ahmya nodded back, before lining up another shot.

The group continued down the hall until they found the second door.

Thankfully the door that greeted them was actually a door this time. A rosy pink door with an indent – highlighted in magenta – in the shape of a round pyramid, as well as a knob likely made out of rose quartz.

_This is Yuuma’s lab, no doubt._ Rantaro thought.

“So what,” Yuuma said aloud. “I just gotta put the diamond in and spin it? Then it’ll unlock?”

“Well, that’s kinda what we had to do for Rikona’s lab.” Kokoro replied with a shrug.

“Okay then,” He walked over to the door, ‘key’ in hand. “Here goes nothing.”

Yuuma started to lift the diamond to the indent and stopped.

Nothing happened for a bit.

“...Guys I can’t reach it, can someone else put it in?”

“Don’t worry, I got this.” Rantaro walked over and pushed the diamond into the indent, spinning it once it was in place until he heard a click.

This prompted Yuuma to try the doorknob, which easily opened.

The best way to describe the Ultimate Jeweller’s lab was a mix between a workshop, a jewellery store and a pick and mix shop for good measure; the latter description in the form what looked like a tiered pick and mix dispenser in the centre of the room that almost looked like a multi-tiered wedding cake, except for the fact that each box was stocked with different jewels, gems and diamonds. There were a number of other drawers at the back of the room, likely storing different kinds of metals or base rings or other accessories to build off of. The workshop area on the left side of the room contained many tools and machinery for making jewellery; a buffer for polishing the jewels and metals, a microscope to be able to get closer more detailed looks of the piece you’re assembling, soldering and engraving irons to assemble pieces together and engrave patterns into metal and the like, as well as a wheeled chair in order to maneuver between the workshop and the display section. As for the display section, it had a number of display boxes and mannequins for putting the rings and necklaces on display once they were finished. The room was painted many shades of pink, with emerald green accents here and there.

Similarly to Ahmya’s lab, this lab fit Yuuma to a T.

His eyes lit up – albeit only a little – as soon as he took in his surroundings.

“Holy...!” He exclaimed, immediately running over to the centrepiece in the middle of the room.

“Wow. This is...Amazing…!” Rantaro agreed, looking around.

Yuuma, as expected, was going through the different boxes on the centrepiece to look at all the gems inside. “This is awesome! I couldn’t even GET some of this stuff before!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, look at this!” He took out a diamond from the drawer he was in and showed it to the group with glee.

The diamond was completely black, yet impossibly, it still somehow shone with every colour when it hit the light.

Rantaro and Haruto both took a step back. “Whoa…!”

“Okay, I’m gonna need to use this.” Yuuma immediately ran over to the drawers of the back and started going through them.

“Are you looking for something?” Kokoro asked.

“A ring base! I might also be able to find some nice halos for it in here...Then I could think about smaller jewels to engrave into it…?”

Rantaro decided to have a closer look at the equipment at the workshop area. The tools included the aforementioned buffer, microscope and soldering and engraving irons, but also included a table vice, a small metal melting pot with some casting moulds, a micro torch hooked up to a gas tank under the workbench, some kind of ring press, a number of jeweller’s loupes – likely for inspecting gems and metals closer – and an array of different sized files, as well as a toolbox which likely contained tools for working with and shaping the metals themselves.

“GOT IT!” He heard Yuuma call out from next to him, getting his attention.

Yuuma darted over to the workbench – prompting Rantaro to move out of the way – and set down the black diamond, a silver ring base and some kind of small circular gold hoop.

“You got an idea?” Rantaro asked.

“I guess you could call it that.” Yuuma replied with a shrug. “I thought a silver ring would go really nice with the diamond, and that a gold halo would provide some nice contrast. I just need to find some gems small enough for me to engrave into the halo that would match the diamond.”

“Huh. Nice.”

_Yuuma seems to know his stuff. I mean of course, he’s the Ultimate Jeweller. Why wouldn’t he?_

_Still, it is fascinating to watch him work._

_But...I can’t shake the fact that something’s up. He seemed pretty downcast earlier this morning, and-_

“Anyway, don’t you guys need to find the other lab?”

Rantaro snapped back to reality. “Huh?”

“Miko’s lab. You still need to find it, right?”

“Well yes,” Miko started. “But what about you?”

“Aw, please!” Yuuma brushed him off with a quick wave of his hand. “You don’t need to worry about me! I’m just gonna work on this, ‘kay?”

Rantaro thought for a moment.

_I’m not sure…_

_He seems off right now. He’s been pretty downcast for a while, and it feels like he’s trying to cover it up._

_I mean, I do that all the time, but that’s a different thing entirely._

_...Maybe he just wants some time alone for a bit. I’ll go see how he’s doing after we find Miko’s lab._

“Alright, if you say so.” Rantaro said with a shrug.

Yuuma smiled, but it seemed a little forced. “Great! See you later, ‘kay?”

Rantaro nodded. “Got it.” He turned back to Miko. “Your lab shouldn’t be too far away, right?”

Miko nodded. “Right. So, should we…?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

It didn’t take long to find what was apparently the door to Miko’s lab.

Similarly to the door to Ahmya’s lab, the door itself wasn’t there. What was there was a stone anvil which, upon closer inspection, had an indent in the top around the same width as the blade of the replica sword which acted as the door’s key.

“Another one of these?” Miko questioned.

Ayano sighed. “...Again...This is a VERY inefficient way to unlock a door...”

Rantaro shook his head. “Ignore that. Anyway, I think to open it, you need to place the sword into that indent in the anvil.”

Miko looked confused. “...But...That’s not how anvils work-”

“There’ll probably be an actual working one inside, just put the sword in.”

“O-okay.”

Miko walked over to the anvil, replica sword in hand. He quickly inspected the indent on the anvil, before lifting the sword up and pushing it into the indent with a swift downward motion.

He took a step back from the anvil which, just like with Ahmya’s lab, was lowered into the ground as the wall behind it split open to reveal a door.

The door was made out of a dark wood with dark metal hinges and a matching doorknob. A decal of an anvil and hammer with a sword next to it was painted on the upper centre of the door.

Miko jumped back a little in surprise when the door was unveiled.

Ayano sighed. “I will need to talk to Monokuma about his inefficiency...”

“Okay okay, we get it.” Rantaro dismissed. “Anyway, looks like your lab’s open, Miko.”

Miko nodded. “...Yes, it looks like it.”

“What’re you waiting for, then?” Jasper said with a smile. “Aren’t you gonna open the door?”

Miko stiffened a little when Jasper addressed him, but nodded.

“R-right.” He walked over to the door and pushed it open.

The room that greeted them was warmly lit; by electric lights fashioned to look like candles nailed to the room’s brick walls (similar to the lights in Saiko’s lab), but it was mostly lit by the coal fire roaring from inside a forge built into the back wall of the room. On either side of the forge – as well as hanging on some of the walls of the room – were a number of weapon racks waiting to be used. One wall had a number of containers shaped like barrels that contained different metals to work with, as well as some moulds for different swords hanging from a rack beside them. On the adjacent side of the room was a number of tools to use when forging blades; hammers, files, tongs, crucibles, a quenching tank and a hand-operated grindstone to name a few. In the centre of the room was, of course, a much larger and sturdier-looking anvil.

This was the perfect lab for the Ultimate Bladesmith.

Miko’s eyes lit up as soon as he opened the door. “T-this is...Amazing!”

Kokoro took a reflexive step back as soon as the heat from the room hit her. “It feels like an oven in here…!”

Jasper shrugged. “Of course. That fire has to be hot enough to heat and sometimes melt steel, doesn’t it?”

“Is that thing on all the time?” Haruto questioned, pointing to the forge at the back of the room. “How does Monokuma even have enough fuel to keep that thing burning?”

“I don’t know. But it does give the place one hell of an atmosphere.”

Miko, of course, seemed the most enthusiastic about this room. As he looked around the different areas excitedly, Rantaro couldn’t help but agree. Similarly to the others, this lab fit him like a glove.

“This is incredible!” Miko said, finally stopping at the anvil in the centre of the room. “This room is almost just like Oji-san’s forge!”

“‘Oji-san’?” Kokoro parroted.

“His uncle.” Rantaro answered.

“Wait, Miko, you lived with your uncle?”

Miko nodded. “Of course! He works as a blacksmith. He taught me everything I know!”

Ayano tilted her head in interest. “Intriguing.”

“Wait,” Amai started. “If you lived with your uncle long enough for him to teach you this stuff, did something happen to your pare-?”

Miko immediately cut her off, waving his hand to get her to stop. “N-n-never mind that! That’s not really important right now!”

Jasper seemed immediately intrigued by this response. “...Oh?”

Rikona chuckled to herself. “It seems I finally do have something in common with one of these peasants after all!”

“Wait, wha?” Amai started.

Miko laughed nervously. “Please, just never mind that. They aren’t important to the current matter of discussion right now!”

“Wait, what matter of discussion? I’m just asking about your mom and da-”

“_Ahahahah the subject’s changed now can we __just __move on from this please?_”

“But I-”

Haruto sharply elbowed her in the side.

“Ow!”

“Stop talking about it, Amai…!” He said through his teeth, to help her get the hint.

“...Ohhh. Gotcha!”

Rantaro thought to himself.

_Miko really doesn’t want to talk about his parents, huh? That means something probably happened, or they did something, and it led to him living with his uncle._

…

_Not gonna lie, I’m pretty curious now._

_But I think I should check on Yuuma now. It’s been a while since I saw him and I feel like I should talk to him._

_He’s seemed down all day – I mean, we all are, but he’s taken it pretty hard. I should see what’s up._

“Okay,” Rantaro announced. “I’m gonna go see how Yuuma’s doing.”

Kokoro stopped and turned to him. “Huh?”

“Yuuma. He’s been alone in his lab for a while. I want to see how he’s doing.”

“But Ahmya’s been alone in her lab for a long time too-”

“Hey.”

Almost as if on cue, Ahmya appeared at the open door.

She surveyed the room with interest.

“...Huh. Cool.” She turned to Miko. “Yours, right?”

Miko nodded. “It’s great, isn’t it?”

Ahmya nodded as she walked in. “Mm-hm.”

“What the hell were you doing down in your lab?” Sachiko questioned. “You were in there for ages.”

“Target practice. Helps take my mind off of stuff.”

_Makes sense. There’s quite a lot to take off of everyone’s mind…_

“Did you see Yuuma’s lab on the way up?” Rantaro asked.

“Oh, the little guy?” Ahmya answered. “I saw the door, but I didn’t go in. Sounded like he was working on something.” She shrugged. “And flashy jewels aren’t really my thing.”

“He must still be working on whatever he’s using that diamond he showed us earlier, right?” Kokoro suggested.

“Ultimate Jeweller, remember?” Jasper answered. “He doesn’t run The Velvet Box for no reason. He’s likely finished it by now. Probably putting that lab to good use or something.”

“I’ll go see what he’s up to.” Rantaro suggested.

“Oh really?” Jasper’s eyes took on that malicious glow again. “Why’re you so adamant on seeing him, anyway?” He smirked. “Ohh, I get it. _You want to catch him when he’s alone, don’t you?_”

Rantaro took a reflexive step back. “...Not funny, Jasper. Nobody’s planning that.”

Jasper didn’t reply. He just laughed to himself.

Sachiko had evidently had enough with him. “Why, you…!”

She went in for a punch from behind but, without even turning around, Jasper immediately caught her fist before she hit him.

Sachiko froze. “Huh!? How the fuck did you catch that!?”

Jasper turned to her and smiled. “Please. _I’ve dealt with worse._”

“G-guys!” Miko stammered. “We can’t be fighting right now! Especially not here, you could hurt yourselves on some of these tools!”

Jasper gave Miko a casual smile, releasing an angered Sachiko’s fist. “Ah, Miko. Ever the safety freak, I see.”

“I-it’s not like that! Just don’t fight, okay?”

“Fuckin’ fine...” Sachiko grumbled, folding her arms.

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” Rantaro dismissed, already heading to the door. “I’m just gonna see how Yuuma’s doing, okay?”

Haruto shrugged. “Okay then.” He gave him a quick two-fingered salute to wave him off. “See you later!”

Rantaro gave him a quick wave back before heading out the door to find Yuuma’s lab.

It didn’t take too long for Rantaro to find Yuuma’s lab. He could hear a muffled whirring noise from inside, likely the sound of the electric buffer.

_So Yuuma is working on something, huh?_ He thought, before knocking on the door.

The whirring took a few seconds to die down before Yuuma replied. “Who is it?”

“It’s just me.”

“Oh, okay! Come on in!”

Rantaro pushed the door open. The inside of the lab hadn’t changed much, aside from a number of the mannequins on the display area of the room proudly showing off various pieces of jewellery; including the ring that Yuuma had started before they left to find Miko’s lab.

Speaking of Yuuma, he was making yet another piece of jewellery to add to the display. He was making some kind of pendant out of a stone that looked like some kind of rose quartz.

“Hey!” He greeted.

Rantaro looked over the jewellery he had already made, impressed. “Wow. Did you make all of these while we were gone?”

“Sure did!” Yuuma replied, getting up off the chair and darting over to his side. “They had a great selection of stuff to use here, so I had to put it to good use!”

Rantaro took a closer look at the ring with the black diamond. The ring itself was made out of silver, with a gold halo that had a number of smaller black gems embedded into it. The diamond itself still impossibly shone with a number of colours when it hit the light.

“Wow.” Rantaro mused, impressed.

_Of course. He is the Ultimate Jeweller, after all._

“So, why’d you want to see me?” Yuuma asked.

“I just wanted to see how you were doing. You just seemed down to me, that’s all.”

Yuuma’s expression faded a little, but he instantly brushed it off. “Aw, please! I’m fine! No need to worry about me, heh...”

Rantaro’s expression hardened. “Yuuma.”

Yuuma didn’t reply at first, then sighed.

“Alright alright, I’m not...”

“That’s fine. A lot happened last night, it’s okay to...Not be okay right now.”

Yuuma eyed the ground nervously.

Rantaro decided the best thing to do was to change the subject. “Why don’t we talk about something else?”

Yuuma looked back up. “Huh?”

“Like, what got you into making jewellery in the first place?”

Yuuma’s eyes seemed to light up again. “Oh, right! Well, it was mainly a hobby of my dad’s before his business got off the ground.”

“So he taught you how?”

“Yeah! He was pretty good at it, too! I’m pretty surprised he didn’t get my title before I did, honestly.”

“Right...Did your mom help with his company at all?”

Yuuma’s expression soured.

“Oh, _her_. Pff, no. Of course not.”

“What? Why not?”

“The two of them hated each other. Good reason too, she never stayed away from a wine bottle too long and wanted to use everything dad earned to buy crappy plastic handbags and tacky high heels.”

Rantaro grimaced. “Damn...”

_Yuuma seems to hold a lot of resentment to his mother. Seems like for good reason, though._

“Yeah, they split a while ago. Dad thankfully got custody, which means he had more time to teach me what he knew.”

Rantaro shrugged. “That’s good, I guess.”

“It was! With her finally out of his life, he was able to get The Velvet Box off of the ground!”

“Speaking of which, just out of curiosity, how _did_ you end up running the company?”

“That’s a long story,” Yuuma started, twirling a lock of his hair around his finger. “Basically, he designed these earrings that ended up getting pretty popular. Copper, leaf-shaped, had an emerald gem in the middle.”

Rantaro nodded, recognising the earrings Yuuma was describing from an advert he’d seen on a train station wall.

“Of course, with popularity comes a _lot_ of orders.” He continued. “It got to a point where he had to make about fifty of them in one night.”

“Wait, copper’s poisonous, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but only in small amounts! He wasn’t expecting those earrings to become as popular as they did! But because of it, he ended up having to cut out a hundred little leaf shapes out of copper in order to make enough to meet demand.” He sighed. “I didn’t realise how bad it was until I found him passed out at his desk...”

Rantaro’s eyes widened in horror. “I-is he-!?”

“No, thank god for that...But he’s still pretty sick. Those earrings had to be taken off the market for a while until we found a different metal to use, and I had to take over from him until he recovers.”

Rantaro gave him a look of pity. “That sounds awful...”

“It really was. The only thing that really kept me going was being able to make enough money with the company to get him better medical treatment. ‘Cause, y’know,” He chuckled dryly. “That always costs a fortune.” He sighed. “But now, I’m stuck here.”

_Damn...No wonder Yuuma’s taking this whole thing hard. He wants to help his father, but the only way is to kill someone. And if you get caught…_

_...Well, we all saw what happened to Saiko…_

_Being trapped here and unable to help an important family member...Talk about deja vu, huh?_

“Look, you don’t need to worry about it.” Rantaro said, attempting to reassure him. “I mean, Monokuma hasn’t threatened your father directly.”

Yuuma raised an eyebrow. “Rantaro, I think we both know you’re lying to make me feel better.”

“Okay, you got me. But-”

“And yeah, he kinda has!”

Rantaro stopped. “What?”

“What did you _think_ my motive was!? ‘If you stay here for too long, your company will deteriorate’? Yeah, no.”

Rantaro froze.

_Oh. Oh, shit_

“...Well...” Rantaro started. “If it’s any consolation, we’re both kinda in the same boat here.”

Yuuma stopped. “What?”

“I have someone important out there I want to help too. We all do, I think.”

Yuuma gave him a deadpan look. “Jasper probably doesn’t.”

“Good point. But we’re all on the same side, aren’t we?”

Yuuma eyed the ground uncertainly. “...Hard to say that after what happened yesterday...”

Rantaro stopped, realising Yuuma had a point.

“...Well yeah...But there’s not much else we can do aside from sticking together, is there?”

Yuuma sighed. “Yeah. No. Probably. I don’t know!” He threw his hands down in frustration.

“I don’t know either, honestly.” Rantaro said with a sigh. “Either way, it’s getting late I think. Are you planning on staying in here much longer?”

Yuuma shrugged. “I dunno. I still have to finish this pendant, at the very least.”

_Wait, very least? How much jewellery is he planning on making!?_

“That’s fair. Talk to you soon, okay?” Rantaro said, heading to the door.

Yuuma gave him a wave. “Yeah! Talk to you soon!”

Rantaro walked out and turned around, heading to the staircase.

_I didn’t realise that’s what Yuuma was dealing with,_ He thought. _I feel sorry for him...I know some of what he feels._

_Is he making all that jewellery to distract himself from everything that’s going on?_

_Possibly. That would make sense._

_...I’ll see if I can talk to him again tomorrow._

_As for now, I’ll just make myself some tea and then head back to my-_

“There you are!”

Rantaro stopped walking as soon as he heard Haruto behind him.

He turned around. “Oh. Hey, Haruto.”

Haruto laughed. “Please, drop the formality already! Just call me Haru.”

Rantaro stepped back. “What?”

“We’re just headed to the rec room downstairs. Wanna come with?”

“Wait, we?”

“Me and Kokoro. I figured it would be nice for the three of us to talk and get to know each other better!”

“Haruto, hold on a second-!”

Haruto’s expression hardened for a split second. “What’d I say about formality?”

“...Fine...Haru, hold on a second! Where’s this coming from all of a sudden?”

“Well, we’re gonna need to work together now, right? A good working relationship is based on trust! It works whenever I need to perform with a new cast, so I figured it’d be a good idea to try it with you guys! What do you say?”

Rantaro sighed, then smiled a little. “Really adamant on making me your friend, huh? Alright, I’ll come.”

Haruto’s eyes lit up. “Great! Come on, this way!”

The two of them arrived at the rec room. Kokoro was already there, and her mood seemed to light up a little as soon as she saw Rantaro was there.

“Ah! You’re here!”

“Heh, yeah.” Rantaro replied with a laugh.

“How was Yuuma doing, by the way?”

“Not too good. He has a lot to deal with right now.”

“That makes sense,” Haruto agreed, taking a seat on one of the chairs around the room. “I mean, with everything that happened yesterday, that piled up on anything else can feel like a mountain to get through.”

Rantaro nodded, him and Kokoro also taking their place at one of the many chairs.

“Definitely.” He seconded. “I mean, we all have things to deal with outside of this killing game, huh?”

“Oh yeah, of course.” Kokoro nodded. “I mean, Miko’s missing his uncle, I’m missing my dads, you’re probably missing your sisters-”

“Yeah yeah of course.” Rantaro cut her off as soon as she mentioned his sisters.

That didn’t work.

“Oh yeah,” Haruto said. “You brought them up a few days ago, I think. What’re they like?”

_Dammit._

“Well, there’s quite a lot of them, so it’ll take me at least an hour an a half to answer that...But they really were the best. They’re the reason I know so much about doing hair and makeup and nail art and stuff like that.”

“Really?” Kokoro asked.

Rantaro smirked, gesturing to his eyelashes. “How do you _think_ I get my eyes to look like this?”

“Haha, true...”

“At least you had your sisters to teach you that stuff!” Haruto said. “I had to learn how to get makeup right online.”

“Oh yeah, ‘cause you have to wear makeup for your shows, right?” Rantaro asked.

“Yeah! And just because it looks cool.”

“Wait, you do it all yourself?” Kokoro asked. “I thought you would’ve had a personal stylist or something.”

Haruto laughed. “Oh, nothing like that! I like doing it myself rather than having someone do it for me. And besides, having a personal stylist would make me feel like _too_ much of a flashy celebrity...”

“...Uh, you kinda are!”

“Heh, not really. I mean sure, there are some people who do recognise me, but most of the time I’m able to go to a coffee shop without people swarming around me for an autograph. I’d rather keep it that way. You get what I mean, right? With your idol stuff.”

“Well yeah, but I _want_ to be recognised!”

“Heh. Talk about polar opposites. How did you end up becoming an idol anyway?”

“It started off as a summer job. There was a flyer I saw on the train station heading back from school once, and I knew I had to do it!”

“That sounds fun!”

“It was! I mean sure, I’m not as big as those girl groups on TV, but just you wait!” She pointed dramatically, her eyes shining.

Haruto laughed to himself.

“What about you?” Rantaro asked. “How did you end up getting into acting?”

“I saw a snippet of a some kind of showcase on TV as a kid.” Haruto explained. “As soon as I saw it, I knew that’s what I wanted to do! It took a while after we moved to Japan, but I managed to find a good acting school to get started.”

“Wait, hold on. You moved here?”

“Yeah, when I was about eleven. My dad was able to get a good property here since he already knew the ins and outs.”

“So you weren’t born in Japan?” Kokoro asked, curious.

“Nope! Puerto Rico, actually. My dad is Japanese, he just met my mom when the job he had relocated. They had to relocate back to Japan after a bit, so we ended up moving back.”

“Huh. Nice.” Rantaro said, interested.

“You’ve been there on your travels, right?”

“Yeah, I have. It’s a really nice country. Had a lot of beautiful areas to sail through.”

“Wait, you have a boat?” Kokoro asked.

“Yeah. It’s how I travel to different countries.”

_...Well technically I stole it from my dad since he wouldn’t miss one boat anyway, but that’s not the point._

“You have to travel too, don’t you Haruto-?”

“Formality.” Haruto replied with a deadpan expression.

“Sorry.”

“No problem. But yeah, sometimes, but never on a boat. Usually just by tour bus or train, and the farthest I’ve gone is the US.”

“I also have to travel sometimes, but never too far really.” Kokoro added. “I only really stick to doing shows near my hometown, so I only really take the train or bus to get there.”

“That makes sense.” Rantaro said. “I mean, it was just a summer job for a while, huh?”

“Only for now!”

The three of them continued talking for a while.

Rantaro was glad for it, honestly. It helped somewhat take his mind off of everything that happened, not to mention it was a good way to get to know the two of them better.

Maybe Haruto was onto something after all.

Before they knew it, Monokuma’s nighttime announcement was playing outside.

“Ugh, already?” Kokoro groaned.

“I mean, we did spend a lot of time finding and unlocking everyone’s labs.” Rantaro said with a shrug. “Not to mention that casino.”

“We can still hang out tomorrow,” Haruto suggested. “So there’s no need to worry about that!”

“That’s a great idea!”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” Rantaro agreed.

“Awesome!” Haruto said with a smile. “But yeah, it is getting pretty late. Should we head up to our dorms?”

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah. That’s a good idea.”

The three of them walked over to their dorm rooms, quickly bidded their goodbyes to each other and walked into their dorms.

Rantaro fell backwards onto the bed.

He sighed.

Everything that happened the day before was still going to be a lot to work through.

After all, everyone was still trapped here.

Still, he smiled a little.

_At least I have at least two good people that I’m trapped here with._ He thought, before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now chapter 2 has begun! *fanfare noise*  
Thankfully it means I'm now able to finally use my boy Haru as a best friend character more. (as you can tell I really love him)  
Not to mention I finally got to add some Yuuma backstory! Fun times  
Thank you for reading until the end! <3  
But still, someone has to die unfortunately. Who's it gonna be?  
Please leave your opinions/theories in the comments!


	13. Two Can Keep a Secret...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the second day after the trial and, despite deep down thinking otherwise, everyone is convinced no-one else will die.  
But, with tensions starting to rise and Monokuma having a new motive prepared, will that be the case after all?

DING-DONG DONG-DING!

“Goooood morning, students!” Monokuma’s morning announcement chimed from outside. “It is now 8am, which means it’s time to rise and shine! So get up and seize the day! Upupu!”

Rantaro pulled himself out of bed. Despite still remembering Saiko and Kaoru’s deaths clear as day, he felt a little more well rested than he did yesterday.

He went through the usual routine of freshening up, making his bed and fixing his makeup before leaving downstairs.

He wasn’t sure if Haruto and Kokoro would be there yet, but some coffee would still be nice.

They weren’t in the kitchen when he arrived, but surprisingly, Yuuma was.

He was sitting at one of the tables, resting on his arm and rubbing his temple with his hand as if he was either really tired or nursing a hangover. Since there wasn’t any alcohol on the premises (that Rantaro knew of), it was most likely the former.

“Hey.” Rantaro greeted, walking over. “You okay over there?”

“Ugh...” Yuuma groaned. “I’m so tiiireeed...”

“Well you should be!” Rikona’s voice piped up from beside them. She strutted over to the table Yuuma was at, holding a cup of what looked like coffee. “That’s what you get for staying up in your lab and making jewellery all night!”

_Ah,_ Rantaro thought. _So he did **more** than finishing that pendant…_

_He must have ended up getting a lot more on his mind or something._

Rantaro was brought out of his thoughts by Rikona lightly tugging on his shirt.

“Peasant, I can’t reach up to the table myself. Can you lift this up to him?”

“Okay, okay.” Rantaro took the cup from her and put it in front of Yuuma. “Here you go.”

“You’d best be grateful!” She snapped. “I had to practically wrestle the cafetière from Ayano to make that!”

“Uh,” Rantaro pointed to one of the kitchen cupboards. “You didn’t need to use the cafetière. There’s instant coffee in there.”

Rikona scoffed. “Like I’d settle for THAT lower-class trash! I for one only drink the finest tea leaves, but if I have to make coffee, I won’t settle for anything less!”

Rantaro rolled his eyes. “Mother of god...” He turned to Yuuma, who was already taking a sip of the coffee. “Yuuma, you said you’d only stay up there to finish that pendant you were working on.”

“It kinda snowballed, okay!? I just had a bunch of new ideas and didn’t realise what time it was...”

“...That’s fair.”

“Don’t say ‘that’s fair’, peasant!” Rikona snapped. “If he continues staying up like this in his lab, then his stress will just get worse!”

“I’m not stressed!” Yuuma argued.

“You are.” Rikona and Rantaro both said at the same time, immediately flinching as soon as they realised.

Yuuma rolled his eyes. “Alright sure, my dad is still on the other side of the academy and I have no idea how he’s doing, and what happened with Saiko and Kaoru may or may not have traumatised me for life, but that doesn’t mean I’m stressed!”

“Yes it does!” They both said simultaneously again, flinching again as soon as they realised.

Yuuma gave them a deadpan expression. “Guys, can you stop being perfectly in sync for five seconds? It’s creepy.”

“I’m not meaning it! I have no idea what’s going on!” They said simultaneously yet again.

Yuuma raised an eyebrow.

Rantaro sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Yuuma, look. Loads of us are stressed after everything that happened. Hell, I’m still stressed.”

“You don’t seem like it.”

“I’m good at hiding it. Show one negative emotion in front of a platoon of little sisters – the majority being under the age of ten – and you get trapped on the ground under a mass tackle hug.”

“...That’s a weirdly specific metaphor.”

“Not a metaphor.”

“Oh, I know exactly what he means!” Rikona piped up.

“Oh,” Rantaro turned to face her. “Do you have a big family too?”

Rikona gave him a cheerful smile. “No, that’s wrong! I don’t have a family!”

There was a short awkward silence.

“...What.”

“I mean I technically have a family in the sense that I have people I consider one, but then again I technically don’t since I don’t have a mom and dad, soooo…”

Yuuma’s eyes narrowed curiously.

Rantaro was just confused. “Wait, what!? How can you say something like that so casually!?”

“Because I’m used to it, of course!” Rikona chimed. “I didn’t grow up with a mom and dad.”

“Did you live in an orphanage or something?” Yuuma asked, intrigued.

“Yup! I have no clue what happened to mom and dad, but since they decided to dump me at an orphanage as a baby, why should I care about them?”

Yuuma raised his eyebrows. “...Huh.”

_So that explains the emotional detachment to her parents, I guess._ Rantaro thought. _They were never there to begin with._

_...Damn, I never thought I’d actually feel sorry for someone like Rikona, but here we are._

_Anyway. Back to why I came down here._

“I’m gonna get myself something to drink.” He said, already walking over to the counter and getting the instant coffee from the cupboard and flicking the kettle on.

“Didn’t you hear what I said about that stuff being lower-class trash?” Rikona piped up from behind him, taking a seat at the same table Yuuma was at. “I’m sure the cafetière Ayano has still has some better coffee left.”

“You know, considering how tired Ayano probably is right now,” Rantaro replied, turning around as the kettle boiled. “I don’t exactly want to get into a fight with her over coffee.” He turned back around to set a cup down and poured some of the instant coffee inside. “And besides, that stuff will probably be cold by the time she lets me have it.”

Rikona scoffed. “Peasant.”

Rantaro rolled his eyes and sighed.

_Aaaand there goes most of the pity…_

The kettle’s switch flicked back (he hadn’t added much water to it, he was only making something for himself after all), prompting him to add water to the cup and appropriately season with sugar and a small amount of cream.

He wasn’t sure if Haruto and Kokoro had come downstairs yet – it was still fairly early after the morning announcement – but he could find something to do in the meantime.

He picked his coffee up and walked off to find something to do, before briefly giving a one-handed wave to the two people at the table.

“Later.”

Yuuma returned the one-handed wave, while Rikona waved him off more cheerily.

Rantaro started walking around the dining hall, now not just looking for something to ease his boredom.

He also needed somewhere to sit down.

Well, in a room filled with chairs and tables, like that was hard to find.

It didn’t exactly take that long before the opportunity for something to do showed itself.

“Y-you can’t keep doing this!” He heard Miko frantically plead from a few tables over. “This can’t be good for you, you know that!?”

“Never done anything before.” An irritated (and somehow even MORE tired sounding) Ayano replied. “So stop bugging me.”

_Bingo. _He walked over to the table he heard them from.

Miko was standing at one side of the table, evidently panicked by something. Ayano, who was sitting at the other side, was downing a cup of coffee when Rantaro arrived, with the cafetière Rikona mentioned earlier sitting next to her on the table about a third full.

“Hey,” Rantaro greeted as he walked over to them. “What’s going on over here?”

Miko breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him. “Oh, Rantaro, thank goodness you’re here! It’s good to have at least _someone_ of rational thought to deal with this.”

Ayano slammed her now empty cup on the table with a determined expression. “I AM of rational thought...I’m not the Ultimate Physicist for no reason, you know.”

Her expression softened a little when she noticed Rantaro had joined them.

“Oh. Hey, Rantaro.” She immediately started pouring herself another cup.

“No, stop that!” Miko pleaded. “You’ve already had six! This will be your seventh now!”

Ayano raised an eyebrow, not stopping pouring. “Uh...Yeah…?...I’ve only had six.” She started downing this cup too.

It didn’t take too long for Miko to realise the implication of what Ayano had just said.

“‘_ONLY’!?_”

Rantaro, however, was focused on another thing entirely.

_...Wait, is she rapidfire downing COMPLETELY BLACK COFFEE!?_

_God, her tastebuds must be made of steel._

Miko sighed, resigned. “...And now we’re on seven...” He turned to Rantaro. “Rantaro, can you please help me here?”

Rantaro snapped back to reality. “Huh?”

“This much coffee in one sitting can’t be good for Ayano’s health, right? I’m worried about the repercussions, but she’s not listening to me!”

Rantaro deadpanned him. “Look at her, Miko. She’s probably _used_ to the repercussions of too much coffee in one sitting.”

“But still!”

“Hey!”

The two of them turned around – with even Ayano cracking an eye open – to see that Haruto had also joined them.

He smiled when he saw Rantaro. “There you are! I was wondering where yoooooou-” his smile fell a little into a confused expression when he surveyed the situation he had just walked into.

“...Uh...What the hell’s going on?”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “I’d honestly like to know too.”

“You _know_ what’s going on!” Miko argued, pointing to the cafetière on the table. “We need to stop her from drinking that?”

This made Haruto even more confused. “...Uh...What?”

Miko gave a resigned sigh again. “...She’s on cup number seven...”

“Wait, _seven!?_”

“From what I get,” Rantaro explained. “She’s been downing them rapidfire. _Completely black._”

Haruto’s eyes widened. “...Holy shit.”

It was now Miko’s turn to be confused, tilting his head a little. “...What do you mean by that?”

“What?”

“What you just said. What does that mean?”

“...Wait, you SERIOUSLY DON’T KNOW WHAT-”

Rantaro dismissed the subject. “Let’s not get into that. Anyway,” He turned back to Miko. “You’re the Ultimate Bladesmith, aren’t you? If you’re strong enough to work with metal, then you’re definitely strong enough to take the cafetière off her.”

“Cafeti...Cafetee...Cafeteeaai…...What?”

Rantaro and Haruto pointed. “That thing.”

“Oh, well...” He nervously pressed his forefingers together. “...I don’t exactly want to start a conflict right now...”

“...Huh?”

“I don’t really want to start a fight with Ayano.”

Ayano set her cup down and mumbled “wise choice” under her breath.

“And besides,” Miko continued. “Wouldn’t taking it off of her by force be a bit rude?”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “And trying to get her to stop _isn’t?_”

Miko stopped.

“...Okay, I guess you’re right...” He sighed and brought his hand to his head in resignation. “...Whatever...I don’t think I want a part in this for much longer...” He turned and started walking off, briefly waving to the three of them. “I’ll be in my lab if either of you want me.”

Rantaro waved back. “Okay. Later.”

There was a brief awkward silence after Miko left.

The one who eventually broke it was, surprisingly, Ayano.

“...Nice guy.”

“Huh?”

Ayano looked up to him. “Hm?”

“Wait, he tries to force you to stop drinking that and you say ‘nice guy’?”

Ayano shrugged, tracing across the rim of her cup with her finger. “Eh...One of the only people here who consistently talks to me I guess. Kinda annoying, but still nice.”

Rantaro raised his eyebrows. “...Huh.”

“Anyway, now that that’s dealt with,” Haruto said. “You wanna come with me?”

Rantaro turned to face him. “What?”

“Kokoro probably got a table while we were here.”

Ayano raised an eyebrow. “The room is full of tables. She wouldn’t have had trouble finding one.”

“Oh, ha-ha. Very funny.”

“Do you need me to get you guys some drinks, or…?” Rantaro asked, pointing in the general direction of the kitchen area.

Haruto shook his head. “Nah, it’s fine. Kokoro and I already sorted it out before I came over. Wanna come with?”

Rantaro nodded and picked up his coffee, which he had set on a nearby table. “Alright.” He briefly turned to Ayano. “Later, Ayano.”

Ayano didn’t reply, just giving the two a small wave as they left.

Rantaro breathed a sigh of relief. “Glad that’s over...I mean, I get why Miko was worried, but it didn’t need to escalate THAT much.”

Haruto shrugged. “Well of course he is. Kinda makes sense from what I get.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you heard what Ayano said. Miko’s the only person who consistently tries to talk to her.”

“Oh, so Miko must want to get closer to her or something.”

“Probably. I mean, if he cares enough to worry about problems from too much caffeine, then...” He stopped. “...Wait, where was I going with this?”

“Don’t worry, I think I know where you were going with that.”

“Okay good.”

It didn’t take them long to arrive at the table Haruto mentioned. Kokoro was already there, with a cup of what Rantaro assumed was hot chocolate in front of her.

Her eyes lit up. “Rantaro! Good morning!”

“Hey.” Rantaro greeted, sitting next to her while Haruto took his place on the opposite side of the table in front of them. “Sorry, I just had to deal with an altercation between Miko and Ayano. How are you doing?”

Kokoro shrugged. “Alright, I guess.” She sighed. “I didn’t really get much sleep last night...”

“That makes sense. After everything that happened.”

“Jeez...” Haruto pulled his fedora down slightly. “As much as I hate to agree with the guy, Jasper was right about this game being an actual threat now...”

Kokoro and Rantaro nodded solemnly.

“Like seriously,” Haruto continued. “What the heck is UP with that guy!? He keeps acting like he knows everything and that he’s enjoying this and oH MY GOD WHEN DID YOU GET HERE!?!?”

Jasper, who was casually sitting on the end of the table next to theirs with one leg crossed across the other, chuckled. “Oh Haruto, don’t you know it’s rude to talk about people behind their backs?”

Rantaro groaned. “What do you want, Jasper?”

“I just want to make friendly conversation, Ran-Ran. Is that so wrong?”

“Please stop calling me that.”

“You can’t stop me.”

“You still haven’t answered my question, Jasper. What are you doing here?”

“Well nobody else wants to talk to me. It’s such a shame, isn’t it?” He gave a dramatic sigh. “I go to the effort of trying to make friends and nobody is willing to do the decency of polite conversation. A tragedy, honestly...”

“It makes sense!” Kokoro argued. “You DID try to kill Amai!”

“That was two days ago, Hikari. Let bygones be bygones. And besides, like I said, Saiko was the one who succeeded. Not me.”

“Just because you didn’t kill someone and Saiko did doesn’t mean we automatically trust you.” Rantaro said bluntly. “You still set up a murder. And you evidently lied to us about your true nature.”

“Oh, me~? Lie~?” Jasper laughed.

Rantaro’s eyes narrowed. “Jasper. If you don’t have anything important to say, then leave. Nobody wants you here.”

Jasper stopped laughing and pouted. “You’re no fun. And as a matter of fact, I wish to ask you something.”

“Why didn’t you just open with that?” Haruto asked.

“I couldn’t just stroll up to you and say ‘I want to ask you something’, could I? I needed to break the proverbial ice first.”

“Well the proverbial ice is now proverbial concrete.” Rantaro said bluntly. “Just get on with your question.”

Jasper sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Alright, fine. Do any of you know of Monochrome Spark?”

Rantaro’s face shifted to a confused expression. “Monochrome...Spark?”

“Oh, I think I know who he means.” Kokoro explained. “The serial arsonist, right?”

Jasper nodded. “That’s correct.”

“Yeah, I think I know who he means too.” Haruto agreed. “They appeared recently and the police have literally no leads.”

Rantaro also seemed to remember who Jasper was referring to from snippets of dialogue he had heard on the news. They had apparently burned down a number of buildings during a surprisingly short amount of time, and even though the police were quick to figure out the attacks were connected, like Haruto said, they had nothing else.

Jasper nodded. “You’ve got it. Apparently they were given their name by the police due to their strange Modus Operandi.” He pushed his glasses up. “They always spray-painted the word ‘monochrome’ in black and white nearby wherever they hit.”

“Okay, we understand.” Rantaro dismissed. “Why are you asking us about some serial arsonist, exactly?”

“As a matter of fact,” Jasper replied with a smile. “I have a sneaking suspicion that he has something to do with this killing game.”

Rantaro raised his eyebrows, surprised. “What?”

“Think about it. A monochrome coloured bear and a monochrome based moniker. Could Monokuma be a more elaborate form of their Modus Operandi?” Jasper shrugged. “I don’t know. Just a thought.”

Kokoro tilted her head, humming thoughtfully. “Hmm...I mean, it’s kinda a stretch, but it’s possible.”

“Hikari, we’ve only been here for a few days. You can’t expect me to know everything yet.” He sighed. “Like I said. Just a thought.”

“Alright. You gave us your thought.” Rantaro said, raising an eyebrow. “Can you leave now?”

“Uh, rude? I try to help you and _this_ is what I get?” Jasper rolled his eyes. “The discourtesy of people sometimes...”

He immediately snapped to a more cheerful expression. “Oh well. What can you do? I’m going to go see if anyone else wants to talk.” He jumped off the table and started to leave. “Oh, I haven’t spoken to Miko in a while! I wonder if he’s willing to talk to me.”

“Good. Don’t come back.”

“Can’t make any promises~!”

Rantaro sighed, thankful that they were finally rid of him.

“I’m so glad that’s over...”

“He did kinda make a good case, though.” Kokoro pointed out. “I mean sure, we don’t have anything yet, but that Monochrome Spark guy could have something to do with Monokuma.”

“Keywords being ‘could have’.” Haruto said. “The police don’t have anything on the guy yet and we haven’t seen anything pointing to them. Hell, can we even trust what Jasper’s saying at all?”

Rantaro shook his head. “I’m honestly not sure...One minute he’s betraying us, and the next he’s suddenly trying to help us again like nothing’s even happened...” He grimaced. “Is this all a fucked up game to him or something?”

“Who knows,” Kokoro replied with a shrug. “That guy’s a mystery to all of us. Even Monokuma, it kinda seems like.”

“Can we stop thinking about Jasper?” Haruto asked. “I mean, the guy’s gone now. Besides, trying to understand him is giving me a headache.”

“You and me both.” Rantaro agreed.

“Thankfully I have at least something to distract myself from thinking about him,” Kokoro said. “Well, at least for a little while.”

“What, do you have something planned today?”

“Oh, Amai just suggested that we spend time at that arcade place. You two wanna come with?”

“Hm, I’m not sure.” Rantaro replied. “Thanks for the offer, though.”

Haruto agreed. “Yeah. Same here.”

As if on cue, Amai strolled over to their table.

“Hey hey hey, you guys!” She greeted cheerily. “How’s everybody doing?”

“Surviving.” Rantaro said with a shrug.

“That’s good!” She nodded to Kokoro. “So, you coming?”

“Of course!” Kokoro hopped off her chair and darted to her.

“You two are going to the arcade, right?” Rantaro asked.

“Yeah,” Amai replied. “The games look super fun! And Kokoro said something to me yesterday about wanting to win some kinda ke-”

Kokoro elbowed her in the side before talking over her. “STUFFED ANIMAL! Yeah! That’s it!”

Rantaro and Haruto immediately figured out what was _really _going on.

Rantaro eyed Kokoro with disappointment.

“D-don’t look at me like that!” She stuttered, flustered.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked. “What, got something to hide?”

“Oh, well wouldya look at the time! Gotta go! See you later!”

She linked Amai’s arm and practically dragged her out of the dining hall.

Rantaro couldn’t help but laugh to himself.

“Well that happened.” Haruto noted.

“Guess someone’s still curious about that key.” Rantaro said with a smirk.

The two of them laughed.

“So, you feeling any better?” Haruto asked.

Rantaro shrugged. “Hard to say. Sure, I’m feeling a bit better than I was yesterday, but like it or not, Jasper did kinda have a point.” He frowned. “The killing game’s an actual threat now...”

“Yeah, unfortunately...But we can’t keep thinking about that.”

Rantaro deadpanned him. “Kinda hard to do that considering that we’re being trapped in the academy by a psychopathic bear that decapitated a guy two days ago.”

Haruto was about to say something, but stopped.

“...Okay, you got me there. But we could try to think about something else!”

Rantaro hummed thoughtfully. “Not a bad idea...Alright. What’s acting like?”

“Well,” Haruto started. “Pretty difficult if you’re not used to it. I mean, no matter what show you’re doing, you have a lot of stuff to pick up on,” He started listing each thing on his hand. “Stage directions, dance routines, picking up harmonies is also pretty hard to start off; and that’s just if you’re in the ensemble.”

Rantaro raised his eyebrows, interested. “Huh. Is it even harder if you’re actually in a lead role.”

“Oh, yeah! On top of all that you need to solo songs, solo routines and a hell of a lot of lines depending on who you’re playing. I mean, I’m finding it a lot easier now, but the same can’t be said for everyone else.”

_That’s not surprising._ Rantaro thought. _Haruto IS the Ultimate Broadway Actor, after all._

“So I usually try to help any new castmates if they’re having trouble getting used to it.” Haruto continued.

“Really?” Rantaro asked.

“Of course! I mean, you gotta help someone if they’re having trouble, y’know? It’s the right thing to do. And besides, it’s pretty easy to get used to once you find your footing. I just like helping them find it.”

“So you help people if they’re struggling with remembering their lines, or with their parts in a song or a routine or something?”

“Yeah, pretty much. It’s only fair, isn’t it?”

“Huh. That’s...Pretty nice of you.”

“Hey, you have to be nice to your cast! After all, you’re gonna be working with them for a long time. Everyone has to be able to work as a unit to pull a show off, y’know? And extending a helping hand when someone needs it is a good start.”

_Oh, so he IS this nice to everyone._ Rantaro thought. _No wonder he was so adamant on becoming my friend yesterday._

_He just wants all of us to work together, huh? Sure, he can’t treat all of this like any of the shows he does, but it’s a good start._

Sachiko walked past their table with her usual stormy expression, catching Haruto’s attention.

“Speaking of,” He turned to get Sachiko’s attention. “Hey!”

Sachiko turned around.

Rantaro sighed. _This is not gonna end well._

“I couldn’t help but notice that you’ve been alone these past few days. You wanna come sit with us?”

Sachiko looked him up and down with a confused expression before saying “...No?”

Haruto shrugged. “That’s fine.”

Sachiko shook her head and continued walking.

He sighed. “Worth a shot.”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “No it wasn’t. You and I both knew she was gonna say no.”

“Oh well. If she wants to be alone, I can respect that.”

“What, so you’re _not_ gonna chase after her or anything?”

Haruto laughed. “What do I look like, a perverted main character from a romcom? Hell no! If she wants to be alone, she wants to be alone. Fine by me.”

_...Huh. Can’t say that’s what I expected. That ended out better than I thought it would._

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something lying on the ground a few feet away.

“Hm?” He walked over and picked it up to have a closer look.

It was a photograph, small enough to fit comfortably in your pocket. The picture had faded with time, but the image was still clear enough to see.

It was some kind of family photo depicting three people.

The father was a kindly looking man with a beaming smile. He had faded rose coloured hair which fluffed a little at the sides tied into a short ponytail at the left side of his head. He wore a turquoise coloured shirt with violet trousers under a dark fuchsia coloured fleece, as well as two sets of bangles on both arms and a sky blue coloured scarf around his neck.

There was a woman on the father’s right, presumably the mother. She was a sour faced woman with long red hair and chocolate brown eyes. She wore a flowing red dress under a black jacket, and a black wide-brimmed sunhat on her head. She was annoyedly pushing a pair of sunglasses up the bridge of her nose, and her lipstick-clad mouth was in a seemingly permanent scowl.

The last person was apparently the family’s daughter. She was wearing an emerald green dress with a pink corset, and was wearing two fluffy bracelets on both wrists that had a resemblance to hair scrunchies, as well as a coral bead necklace dangling around her neck. She had long rose coloured hair, which she wore in two braids with an emerald green headband. Her emerald coloured eyes almost looked sad, and she had a familiar four-pointed star shaped birthmark under her right eye.

It was at this point that Rantaro noticed that the family in this picture – the girl especially – all had a striking resemblance to Yuuma.

_This must belong to him_, Rantaro thought. _He must have dropped it earlier. I should give it back._

“What is it?” Haruto asked.

“I think it belongs to Yuuma.” Rantaro said. “He probably dropped it or something.”

Rantaro briefly turned to see if he was still at the table with Rikona. Both of them had left.

“Hmm...” He hummed thoughtfully. “He’s probably in his lab again. I should go up to the second floor to see if he’s there.”

Haruto nodded. “That’s cool. See you later!”

“Yeah. See you later.”

Rantaro carefully put the photo in his pocket and headed to the second floor.

“Yuuma, you in there?” Rantaro asked, knocking on Yuuma’s lab door.

He had reached the second floor, but Yuuma didn’t seem to be in his lab.

Rantaro took a step back from the door and hummed thoughtfully.

“If he’s not in there,” He said. “Where _is_ h-”

His question answered itself in the form of the sound of rapidly clicking heels and the sensation of someone – no, _two_ people running past him.

_I’d recognise those shoes clicking anywhere._

He turned around and called for him. “Yuuma!”

Yuuma, despite having already run quite a bit away from him, turned around and waved. “Oh, hey!”

Rikona, having apparently been the other person with him, folded her arms, irritated, while holding some kind of canvas bag in her right hand. “What gives you the right to stop us, peasant?”

Yuuma rolled his eyes. “Jeez, chill.”

“What’re you two up to?” Rantaro asked as the two of them walked over.

“We’re going to play, obviously!” Rikona announced, puffing out her chest with pride. “Monokuma added that new facility for a reason!”

“Ohh. You mean the arcade, right?” Rantaro gestured to the canvas bag in Rikona’s hand. “What’s the bag for?”

“To make carrying the prizes we could get from the counter easier.” Yuuma explained. “She got it from that gachapon machine in the rec room.”

“She got THAT from that machine? How did it even fit inside the capsu-!?”

“Better if you don’t question it.”

“Right. Well, you two have fun with that. Actually,” He nodded to Yuuma. “Can I talk to you for a few minutes?”

Yuuma gave him an inquisitive look for a few seconds, before nodding.

“Sure.” He signalled to Rikona. “You go on ahead.”

Rikona nodded with a smile. “Of course!” She shot Rantaro a glare. “Don’t keep him for too long, peasant!”

Rantaro laughed. “Can’t make any promises.”

Rikona pouted before running in the direction of the arcade.

“So,” Rantaro started, getting Yuuma’s attention again. “You doing okay?”

Yuuma raised a quizzical eyebrow. “_That’s_ why you stopped me?”

Rantaro laughed and shook his head. “Not quite. I just thought I’d ask.”

Yuuma shrugged. “I dunno, I’m still not sure what could happen next...” He sighed. “But I’m feeling better than I was yesterday.” He pointed in the direction his companion ran off in. “She’s been helping.”

Rantaro looked confused. “What? Rikona?”

“Yeah. After you left, she said something about ‘making it her personal mission to make me feel better’ or something along those lines. The arcade thing was her idea.”

“So...She’s trying to cheer you up?”

“Apparently.” He smiled a little. “Pretty nice of her, actually.”

_...Huh._ Rantaro thought. _I don’t think I would’ve imagined someone like Rikona going out of their way to cheer someone up. She just seemed like the type to call someone she doesn’t like a peasant every five minutes._

_Wait, she is._

_But she’s trying to cheer Yuuma up now? That’s pretty generous of her._

It was at this point that Rantaro remembered the reason he stopped Yuuma in the first place.

“Oh, actually...”

Rantaro reached into his pocket, prompting Yuuma to give him a curious look.

“You dropped this in the dining hall.” He carefully took the photograph out of his pocket and handed it to him. “I wanted to return it to you. Here.”

Yuuma’s eyes widened when he realised what Rantaro was holding.

“I did!?” He took the photo out of Rantaro’s hand. “Oh thank god, I don’t know what I would’ve done if I lost it! Thanks for picking it up!”

“No problem.” Rantaro replied. “That’s your family, right?”

Yuuma nodded. “I guess you could say that.”

Rantaro walked over to get another look at the picture.

With what Yuuma said about his mother the day before, the fact that the sour looking woman in expensive looking clothing had such an abrasive aura made a lot more sense.

The realisation that her wardrobe and the makeup on her face likely came out of Yuuma’s father’s pocket only turned Rantaro off the woman even more.

Yuuma’s father, however, was the complete opposite; his beaming smile showing that he was a kind and gentle person.

_No wonder Yuuma’s so worried about him,_ Rantaro thought. _He’s sick from copper poisoning right now and needs help. And he just seems like such a nice person from looking at him._

However, there was one person in the picture that Rantaro couldn’t get a handle on.

“Who’s that?” He asked, pointing to the nervous looking girl in the picture.

“O-oh, her?” Yuuma answered, tensing a little when Rantaro brought her up. “She’s...My sister.”

“You didn’t say anything about having a sister.”

“Uh...I don’t really like thinking about it...” He nervously twirled a lock of his hair around his finger. “Dad got custody of me when my parents split, but she...” Yuuma’s expression soured. “Got stuck with _her._”

Rantaro stopped, immediately realising what Yuuma was getting at.

“Not to mention, she doesn’t even let us _talk_ to her anymore.” Yuuma continued with a grimace. “Dad tried getting her to change her mind, but she wouldn’t budge about it.”

_So his mom has custody of his sister, but won’t even let him or his dad see her?_

“That’s...Awful.”

Yumma nodded slowly, putting the photo in his pocket. “I don’t really like thinking about it.”

_He probably carries that picture around as a reminder of a better time or something._

“Anyway,” He continued, turning around and started to walk away. “I’d better not keep Rikona waiting. See you later.”

Rantaro was going to let him go.

But when Yuuma turned around, he noticed something with a metal glint in his other pocket.

Rantaro was immediately unnerved, and decided he needed to stop him again.

“What’s that in your pocket?”

Yuuma stopped walking.

“Just...Something I was working on in my lab.” He started. “That’s all, don’t worry about it.”

_If he was making something in his lab, why would he carry it around with him like that?_

“I’m sorry,” Rantaro said, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. “But that does NOT look like a piece of jewellery.”

“Look, just don’t worry about it, okay?” Yuuma said with an unnatural firmness in his voice. “That’s all. Nice talk, I’m going now-”

Rantaro decided that that was enough and he needed to know what was going on.

He grabbed Yuuma by the arm and stopped him from walking away.

“W- hey!” Yuuma spun around and tried to get out of his grip. “Let go!”

“I’ll let go when you tell me what that is.”

“I-I told you! Don’t worry about it! Let go of me!”

_He’s dodging the question. He’s obviously trying to hide something._

_That probably means...No, that can’t be right. But I need to know for sure._

Rantaro finally decided to go into Yuuma’s pocket and take whatever it was off of him by force.

His suspicions were unfortunately confirmed.

It was a small handle painted with a black and white design with a small indent showing part of a red coloured steel on the side.

Immediately knowing what this meant, Rantaro pressed down on the steel on the indent.

With a quick flipping motion, this revealed a shining red blade.

Yuuma had frozen, realising he couldn’t get out of this easily.

Rantaro gave him a glare.

“..._What the hell is this_.”

“I-I can explain!”

“You’d better.” Rantaro said coldly, locking the blade back in place. “Explanation. NOW.”

“I haven’t had it for long!” Yuuma stammered. “I’ve only had it for the...Past...Day...I-I’m not trying to kill anyone! I promise!”

“That doesn’t answer my question, Yuuma.” Rantaro said firmly, finally letting go of Yuuma’s arm. “Why do you have this.”

Yuuma sighed. “I-I got scared, okay!? After what happened to Kaoru…Anyone could want to kill someone next! And I’m completely defenceless! I could die next! I need some way to defend myself if anyone comes after me!” He looked down shamefully. “So last night...I asked Monokuma what I should do, and...” He pointed to the pocket knife. “...He gave me this for in case anything happens...”

Rantaro looked over the pocket knife in his hand. “_Monokuma_ gave you this?”

Yuuma took the knife back. “J-just for self defence! I don’t want to kill anyone! How could _I_ kill anyone, anywway!? I can barely reach up to someone’s neck, let alone deal a finishing blow!”

Rantaro was unnerved. Yuuma’s fear made sense; he was one of the smallest people here and probably wouldn’t be able to defend himself if anyone tried to kill him. But…

“Look, I get how you feel,” He started. “I mean, I’m scared too. But I don’t think asking Monokuma to give you a knife was really necessary.”

“I didn’t ASK him to give me a knife! I just said that I was scared that someone could kill me and he just said ‘say no more’ and handed it over! Look, I don’t want to kill anyone! I swear!”

Rantaro pressed his lips in a firm line and gave him a single nod.

“Alright. I believe you.”

Yuuma sighed. “O-okay...I’m...Going now.”

He turned around and walked off, the clicking of his shoes getting further and further away.

Rantaro had no idea how to feel.

He was scared too, but everything that happened had pressured Yuuma enough to force him into carrying a knife around for self defence.

The worst thing is that he understood why Yuuma was doing this.

He sighed.

Jasper was definitely right now.

He didn’t want to think about this anymore. He needed to think about something else.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for the opportunity for distraction to present itself.

“You’re standing in the middle of the hall doing nothing again.” Ahmya’s voice said from behind him. “Why do you keep doing that?”

“Oh,” He turned around to face her. “I was just talking to Yuuma. He left a while ago.”

“Hm. Interesting. Want to come with me?”

Rantaro raised his eyebrows. “What?”

“I’m going to go to my lab to do some target practice. And it doesn’t look like you have anything else to do.” She shrugged. “Besides, you seem interesting.”

“...That’s a compliment, right?”

Ahmya gave a short dry chuckle. “Of course it was. You coming or not?”

That’s how Rantaro found himself in Ahmya’s lab with one of the bows from the rack in his hand.

“No, you have to keep your arm steady, see?” She directed, demonstrating with her own bow. “It’s a lot easier to hit the target this way.”

“I know, but I’m not used to carrying this thing. It’s really hard to stay still while holding this!”

“Okay, look.” She took out an arrow from the bag on her back and started to draw it. “You have to keep your arms steady when you pull the arrow back.”

She released the arrow, it effortlessly hitting the bullseye on the target she was facing.

“Okay,” She handed an arrow to him. “Now you try.”

“Alright.” Rantaro took the arrow and turned to face the target.

He raised the bow in his hand, struggling a little with it’s weight.

Sure, he had dealt with more difficult things on his travels, but that didn’t mean he immediately knew how to fire an arrow.

With his other hand, he carefully nocked the arrow and started to pull it back.

“I said _steady_.” Ahmya said from a few feet away. “Do you not know what the word steady means?”

“I AM steady!”

“Your hand holding the arrow isn’t. And try to aim, it really helps!”

Rantaro managed to stop the hand holding the arrow from trembling ever so slightly and adjusted the position of the bow.

He took a deep breath and let go.

The arrow whizzed off from the bow and hit one of the lower sections of the target.

He raised an eyebrow, lowering the bow. _That’s a start._

Ahmya seemed to agree.

“Now you’re getting it.” She said, walking over with a small smile.

“Do you normally teach people?” Rantaro asked.

She shook her head. “Not really. I’ve tried to teach my brother a few times, but he doesn’t really get the technique right.”

“You have a brother?”

“Yeah. Year and a half older than me.” She smirked. “Practically the only person back at home who I could actually hang out with.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah. No, my parents were fine, they just always made me feel like I was doing something wrong. Whenever I did something for them, I’ve either not done it to their standard or missed something out. He feels the same way.”

“Ohh...” Rantaro understood exactly the feeling she meant. “So is your brother not an archer?”

“Nope. He’s really happy with me being one though. I mean, he panicked at first when I got my title but that was mainly because of the fact that I had a bloody hole instead of a left eye, so that’s kinda par for the course.”

“...Huh.” He was still to get used to how casually Ahmya referred to her life-changing injury. It was probably because she had gotten time to get used to it, but it was still pretty jarring.

He was about to say something else, when a familiar chime rang out from the speaker outside.

“Attention, all students!” Monokuma’s voice crackled from outside. “I have a _veeeeeeery _special announcement for all of you! So head to the stage room on ze double!”

Rantaro and Ahmya said the exact same thing at the same time.

“...Oh for fuck’s sake...”

“What does he want this time!?” Rantaro said, pointing to the general direction of where the speaker was outside.

Ahmya shrugged. “Who knows. But I guess we can’t get out of it.”

The speaker outside crackled and Monokuma’s voice came out of it again.

“And no skipping this! This is important, so attempting to skip this announcement will result in a punishment!”

Ahmya raised an eyebrow. “...Yep. Definitely can’t get out of it.”

“Ugh, god...” Rantaro brought his hand to his head in annoyance. “Do we HAVE to do this?”

Ahmya deadpanned him. “So you’d rather the punishment than listening to the announcement.”

“...Fair point. Let’s just get this over with...”

It didn’t take long for everyone to arrive at the stage room.

“Hey, Rantaro!” Kokoro called out as she ran over to him. “You heard that thing too, right? What do you think Monokuma wants?”

Rantaro turned to face her and shook his head. “No clue.”

Jasper, who was a few feet away, tilted his head with a smirk. “It’s possible he already has a new motive prepared.”

“D-don’t say that!” Kokoro countered.

Rantaro grimaced. “Like it or not, Jasper could be right. Monokuma probably wants someone to die again.” He shrugged. “Or maybe he’s just being a dick. Either or.”

Kokoro pressed her lips into a firm line and looked away. “I really hope not...”

It was at this point that Rantaro noticed that Kokoro had something in her pocket.

But unlike the pocket knife he found on Yuuma earlier, he could see part of it, immediately recognising the bronze sheen and the ruby gem embedded on the top from the mysterious key at the arcade prize counter.

He raised an eyebrow, disappointed. “...Seriously?”

When Kokoro realised where Rantaro was looking, her face flushed red and she stuffed the key further into her pocket. “GAH! D-don’t judge me!”

Rantaro rolled his eyes and was just about to say that he really was starting to judge her now when Monokuma presented himself on stage.

“Hello, everyone!” He greeted. “Glad to see all of you decided to attend! Upupu!”

Everyone collectively groaned.

“Hey, that’s just rude!” Monokuma snapped.

“You practically forced us to come.” Rantaro pointed out. “You said if we didn’t come, we’d be punished.”

“Exactly! Because this announcement is very important!”

His sharp-toothed grin grew wider as his jagged eye shone a sickly red.

“_Because I’m giving you all a new motive!_”

Rantaro stiffened.

“W-what!?” Kokoro stammered.

Jasper flashed her a smirk. “Told you.”

“Sh-shut up!”

“What’s the point of giving us a motive now?” Ayano questioned. “The trial wasn’t that long ago.”

“Because any day without death is a complete bore!” Monokuma replied, putting his hand to his head in an impression of a cliched fainting maiden. “Nobody else has died! How boooriiiing!”

“Yeah, and nobody else is GONNA die!” Haruto argued.

Monokuma cocked his head, intrigued. “Oh? You really think so?”

Rantaro nodded. “Haruto’s right. Nobody else will die after what happened to Kaoru and Saiko. So don’t bother with the-”

As if on cue, an envelope landed in his hand.

“...Motive.”

Monokuma, holding the other eleven envelopes in his hand, grinned a sharp grin.

“Well, I spent so much time on it anyway, so I can’t let it go to waste!” He threw all the envelopes to the students below. “BANZAIIIIII!”

Ahmya gave Monokuma a wide-eyed but completely deadpan expression as she picked her envelope off of the floor. “...Did...You seriously just say ‘banzai’?”

“More importantly,” Jasper said, holding his in his hand. “You’ve just given us pieces of paper again. Sure, it’s inside of an envelope, but still.”

“And again, it’s what’s on the inside that counts!” Monokuma explained. “And inside these envelopes are _your deepest darkest secrets!_”

Rantaro froze.

_W-what!?_

Jasper raised his eyebrows. “...Huh.”

Tsumugi smirked. “Heh. Secrets? You’re a dumbass.” She ripped open her envelope and took out the slip of paper inside. “I don’t have anything you can use against m-”

Her smirk practically fell off her face as soon as she saw what was on it.

“...W-what the FUCK!?”

“Okay, I don’t know about you,” Haruto said, pointing to Tsumugi. “But that’s NOT a good sign!”

“Upupu! I’m not done yet!” Monokuma chuckled. “If nobody dies within the next twenty-four hours, all of the secrets will be REVEALED TO EVERYONE!”

“I reiterate! WHAT THE FUCK!?” Tsumugi shouted. “You’re seriously gonna reveal THIS to EVERYONE!?”

“If nobody dies! Upupu!”

Tsumugi growled. “You motherFUCKER!”

“Jeez,” Amai walked over to her. “What’s even so important anyway-?”

Tsumugi shoved her off. “GET OFF ME!”

“Okay, okay!” Amai hopped back a few steps, and ripped her envelope open. “What’s all the fussing about anywa-”

She froze. “A-aah!? How the heck do you even KNOW this!?”

This drove Monokuma into a laughing fit.

“I knew this would work!” He cheered. “Remember, if nobody dies within 24 hours, I’ll spill AAALLLLL the tea to everyone! And believe me when I say that this is hot, hot, HOT!”

This prompted a number of the students to open their own envelopes and see what was inside.

Rantaro, however, kept his clenched in his fist.

He already had a good idea as to what was inside.

“Upupu!” Monokuma laughed. “Well, my work here is done! Bear-well!”

With a pirouette twirl, he vanished.

“...O-okay...” Yuuma said, nervously looking at his slip of paper. “...It looks like...Monokuma knows more about us than we first thought...”

Miko was staring at his with his other hand over his mouth in horror. “...T-this is...Impossible...”

“W-what are we meant to do!?” Amai stammered.

Ayano hummed thoughtfully. “Not everyone has seen what’s inside their envelopes yet.”

“Yeah, hell no I’m not opening mine!” Haruto argued.

Jasper cocked his head curiously. “Oh? Don’t you want to know what Monokuma is going to tell everyone in 24 hours?”

“You’re one to talk! You haven’t opened yours either!”

Jasper scoffed. “That’s trivial. Monokuma has no way of knowing, anyway.”

“Yeah, I don’t exactly want to open mine either.” Kokoro agreed. “Wouldn’t that just be giving in to what Monokuma wants?”

Ayano tilted her head with a slight smile. “It’s fine. You aren’t subjecting to his will yet...You’re just seeing what’s inside. Now, go on.”

That was their cue for the four of them – Rantaro included – to open their envelopes.

Rantaro was hesitant. He practically already knew what was going to be written on that piece of paper, but come on. There was no way that Monokuma actually knew that, right?

Right!?

He carefully opened the envelope and took out the slip of paper.

“_Rantaro Amami is such a terrible older brother, that he abandoned all twelve of his little sisters in his travels around the world!”_

…

_Well, fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (the fact that I'm using the secrets motive from THH will make sense later I swear)  
And now things are heating up again~  
As you can tell, I still love writing with Yuuma and Haru. Fun times  
But those fun times won't last for much longer~  
Because with the motive, someone will have to die. *chanting* Who's it gonna be? Who's it gonna be?  
Thank you for reading until the end! <3  
Please leave your opinions/theories in the comments!


	14. ...If One of Them is Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monokuma's new motive sends waves through the remaining cast.  
Especially Rantaro, as his secret is something he especially doesn't want revealed.  
But even after emotional walls come crashing down, can someone really be willing to kill someone else over a secret?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate title: Rantaro needs therapy for 1 chapter straight

Rantaro couldn’t take his eyes off the slip of paper in his hand.

_This can’t actually be happening, right?_

_How the hell did Monokuma find out about this!?_

_This is…!_

Jasper, however, reacted to his motive with laughter.

“What,” He scoffed. “I lost my virginity a year ago?” He stuffed the paper and the envelope into one of his pockets. “What's the big secret about that!?”

Haruto, who had just finished reading his secret, turned to him in shock. “Wait, WHAT!?”

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “Uh, yeah? People have sex sometimes. Big deal.” He gave him a casual shrug. “Sure, he broke up with me two weeks later because he was just going through a bi-curious phase, but the point still stands.”

“Wait, so you actually-”

Jasper chuckled and shook his head.

“Yeah, no. I'm messing with you. Like I'd actually tell you what my secret is.”

“Oh...So the boyfriend thing was a lie?”

Jasper flashed him a wink. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

Rantaro usually would’ve told Jasper to shut up and stop with his mind games, but he didn’t.

Instead, he kept his eyes on the words printed on the slip of paper in his hand.

If nobody died within the next day, everyone would find out.

Everyone would know what a useless older brother he was.

Which was, honestly, one of the last things he wanted.

Everybody will find out how much of a horrible person he was if nobody died.

_If nobody died..._

Wait, what the hell was he thinking? Does someone really have to die because he doesn’t want anyone to find out about how he’s a terrible brother?

This was exactly Monokuma’s intention, wasn’t it?

He shook his head, sliding the paper back into it’s envelope and slipping both into his pocket.

_I’m just being selfish now. I can’t think like that._

He turned to Kokoro and was about to say something like “we can’t let this motive sway us like what happened last time” – even though he was contradicting that already, how pathetic of him – but stopped when he saw her.

She was frozen in place. Her trembling hands kept a tight hold of the slip of paper, the eyes that were glued to whatever that slip of paper said were wide in...He couldn’t actually tell what it was.

“Hey, Kokoro?” He asked, gently tapping her shoulder to get her attention. “Are you okay?”

Kokoro jolted at the touch. “A-aah!” She stuffed the paper into her free pocket that wasn’t filled up by the key (no matter what that thing even does, there was no doubt she’d be using it later to de-stress) “I’m fine, it just...Shook me, is all...”

Jasper smirked and tilted his head, seemingly satisfied and amused by Kokoro’s reaction.

“Oooohh...” He cooed delightfully. “It seems that Monokuma didn’t slouch at all. This motive’s even getting to Hikari, apparently!”

“I-it’s not getting to me!” Kokoro stuttered, obviously a barefaced lie.

He picked up on this. “Now now, there’s no need to lie. I mean, if you’re so willing to stick to your philosophy, everyone’s going to know what’s on that slip of paper anyway.”

Kokoro was about to say something, but frowned and eyed the ground instead.

“Jasper,” Rantaro said, angered by what he was saying. “What you’re saying means that _your_ secret will be revealed too. You do realise that, right?”

Jasper sighed and casually shrugged. “I don’t exactly want it to be revealed, but what will be will be.” He flashed a menacing smile. “_If everyone’s so willing to stick to their guns, that is._”

“Shut your mouth, peasant!” Rikona snapped. “We all saw what happened to Saiko! Do you really think that someone will murder again after seeing that!?”

“If they’re willing to go to that length to protect their secret. I mean, there has to be _someone_ who doesn’t want their secret revealed to everyone, right?”

Sachiko growled. “Can I punch that fucker’s face into a purple stain now?”

Ahmya put her hand on her bow. “I’ll help.”

“No! Stop it!” Miko begged. “Fighting is the last thing we need right now!”

“I agree.” Ayano seconded with a nod. “Fighting amongst ourselves is one of the least logical things to do right now. Monokuma wants us to fight in order to create a sense of distrust, doesn’t he?”

“Isn’t that the whole point of the motive, too?” Ahmya asked.

“That’s very possible. The fact that the motive involves secrets could also create a sense of distrust amongst the group, which anyone here now has the potential to exploit.” She hummed thoughtfully. “Monokuma has certainly thought this game through...”

_There she goes with breaking everything down logically again._ Rantaro thought. _Though what she’s saying makes a lot of sense._

“Well, nobody’s gonna exploit it.” Haruto assured. “We all saw what happened with Saiko, remember? Nobody’s gonna risk that!”

“That depends.” Jasper replied. “Depending on how severe their secret is, they might see the punishment as worth risking.”

“Yeah, Monokuma gave us some pretty deep stuff, it looks like.” Yuuma added with a shiver. “I don’t even wanna know how he knows all this...”

Amai nodded in agreement. “You and me both, dude.”

“Well yeah, but is keeping something secret really worth taking someone’s life over!?” Haruto questioned.

“Good question.” Jasper said, tilting his head in amusement with a sinister smile. “_Someone might be asking themselves that later tonight.”_

“S-stop that! Stop acting like you know what’s gonna happen!”

Jasper simply laughed in response.

Rantaro forced his gaze to the ground shamefully, as he had actually asked himself that question not even ten minutes earlier.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Tsumugi said, getting the room’s attention. “None of that answers the big-ass elephant in the room. What the hell are we gonna do now!?”

_As much as I hate to agree with her, she kinda has a point._

“Well, the most logical move would be to reveal our secrets now.” Ayano suggested.

“How DARE you suggest that, peasant!” Rikona snapped. “These matters are private!”

“Yeah, I’m with Rikona here.” Yuuma agreed. “People don’t exactly want these secrets to be revealed. That’s kinda why secrets exist, y’know.”

Ayano’s brow furrowed in frustration. “...Alright, fine. Well what do you suggest we do?”

“Is there anything we CAN do? We can’t exactly hold hands and pray that a murder doesn’t happen. We tried that last time and look where that got us.”

“And even if we do tell our secrets now,” Miko seconded. “That might also result in a murder. Something one of us is hiding may be seen as dangerous to someone.”

“And besides,” Jasper added with a shrug. “That’d only piss Monokuma off even more. It’ll devalue his motive, and next thing we know he’s immediately giving us another one.”

“Okay, so that’s revealing everyone’s secrets off the table...” Ayano muttered, with a tinge of annoyance in her tone.

“It was never ON the table to begin with!” Sachiko snapped.

“So what are we meant to do, then?” Yuuma asked. “Just mull over the motive in our own time and hope nothing happens?” He narrowed his eyes skeptically. “Because that’s _exactly_ what we did last time.”

“Well, there’s not much we can do.” Rantaro said with a shrug.

Yuuma didn’t reply at first, simply twirling a lock of his hair around his finger for a few seconds, before sighing and saying “That’s fair. But while we’re here...”

His expression took on a darker, more quizzical nature.

“Do you think we’re allowed to tell people our secrets privately?”

“Huh? Well, I don’t think Monokuma said anything about it being against the rules.” Rantaro answered. “But why, though?”

Yuuma shrugged. “I mean, they’re all gonna be told in a day anyway. People might want to rip the bandaid off themselves rather than having Monokuma rip it off for them.”

Ayano hummed thoughtfully. “That does make some sense...Being able to get your secret off your chest so that Monokuma doesn’t have as much satisfaction, right?”

Yuuma nodded. “Yeah, that’s it.”

“But yeah, not everyone wants to reveal their secret.” Tsumugi snapped. “You said it yourself five minutes ago, dumbass.”

“I didn’t say everyone has to. I’m just saying you can if you feel like you want to.”

Tsumugi rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You fuckers go do what you want.” She strode over to the double-doors at the end of the room and left.

Yuuma shrugged. “Well, if that’s that,” He started to walk off too. “I’m gonna head to my la-”

Rikona grabbed him by the sleeve to stop him. “I don’t think so, peasant! You’re coming with me!”

“W-what?”

“I’m not going to let you spend hours alone wallowing in self-pity like a lower-class wretch!” She gave him a beaming smile. “You’re coming with me to MY lab!”

“Okay, first off, that’s probably what most people are gonna do. And second,” He deadpanned her. “That is NOT how you ask people to hang out!”

Rikona raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to come play with me or not.”

Yuuma thought about it for a moment.

“...Well I don’t actually know how to play chess so-”

“You WHAT!? All the more reason for me to teach you then!” She started dragging him in the direction of the door.

“W- HEY!”

“WE ARE GOING TO HAVE FUN TOGETHER AND YOU CAN’T STOP ME!”

The door slammed shut behind them, but their back and forth was still somewhat audible until they had gone out of earshot.

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “...Well that happened.”

“I mean,” Miko started. “It’s nice that she wants to spend time with him, I guess.”

Ahmya shrugged. “Has a very odd way of expressing it. Well if it’s all the same to you,” She also started walking in the direction of the door. “I’m gonna head to my lab too.”

Kokoro nodded. “Yeah, go for it. In fact,” She turned to address the rest of the room. “I think it’s time we all disperse too. I mean, not much else we can do, right?”

Everyone seemed to agree and started heading to the door.

However, when Rantaro started walking, someone took his hand and stopped him. The others didn’t notice and continued filing out of the door, leaving him and whoever stopped him alone.

Rantaro grimaced, remembering Jasper doing this exact thing the day before Kaoru’s murder, so he took a deep breath, bracing himself for the worst.

Turns out that wasn’t necessary, as the one who stopped him wasn’t Jasper at all.

“...Hey.”

Rantaro’s breath hitched, and he turned to face the person who stopped him.

“H-Haruto? What are you-?”

Haruto was giving him a look of concern. “Are you okay?”

Rantaro’s eyes widened, noting the fact that he didn’t even bother correcting him. “What?”

“You didn’t look that good after reading your motive. So are you okay?”

Rantaro grimaced and turned his gaze to the ground. Telling Haruto the truth about his sisters was practically the last thing he wanted right now.

“...It’s nothing. It just...Surprised me, is all.”

Haruto didn’t look too convinced.

“Look, you know you can tell me if something’s up, right? I can listen if you got something to say.”

_Yeah, I KNOW that, I just don’t want to tell you how much of an irresponsible older brother I am because then you’ll start hating me because of it and I mean I won’t blame you or anything but I don’t want that to happen at all because you and Kokoro are practically the only people I feel like I can trust right now after Saiko died and-_

_Wait, no, I can’t say that._

Instead, Rantaro decided to go back to using the same tactic he always does.

Forcing a smile and hoping the other person forgets about it.

“You don’t have to worry about me. I mean, I can’t exactly give Monokuma what he wants, can I?” He added a forced laugh for good measure.

At first it looked like Haruto wasn’t gonna buy it – of course, he’s an ACTOR, pretending to feel one way when you’re really feeling the other is practically his JOB – but he eventually sighed and shrugged.

“Okay, if you say so.” He gave Rantaro a wink. “But I’m still here if you need me, got that?”

Rantaro brushed his concerns off. “Yeah, yeah. I mean, all of us were a little shaken by our motives, right?”

“Well yeah, Monokuma’s pretty good at choosing the right stuff I guess.”

“What, was yours pretty bad too?”

“Well yeah, but not THAT bad I guess. You don’t have to worry about me either.”

“You sure about that?”

Haruto hesitated for a split second.

“...Uh...Pff, no! It’s fine!” He laughed it off, immediately reverting back to his usual self.

Rantaro noticed, but decided not to pursue. Since doing that would kinda make him a massive hypocrite.

“Either way,” Haruto continued, heading to the door. “I’m gonna head. Still need to figure out what the hell I’m gonna do for the rest of the day.” He turned and gave Rantaro a wink and a two-fingered salute. “Later!”

Rantaro didn’t leave at first. He still had a lot to go over before deciding what he wanted to do for the rest of the day, anyway.

However, Haruto’s brief hesitation made him remember something that he had said the day before.

“_Yeah, I played a major part in nailing down Saiko as the culprit and may be partially responsible for his death, but that’s not the point here!”_

………

_...Well that makes sense._

_He’s a professional actor. Of course he’s a lot better at doing this than I am._

_...Whatever. That’s a point for another time._

He shook those thoughts out of his head and headed out the door.

He eventually found himself on the second floor again.

Rantaro honestly had no idea how to feel.

If nobody dies, then everyone would know what happened to his sisters.

And if everyone knows, everyone will hate him.

Well of course they will, won’t they? What kind of useless older brother is somehow able to lose all twelve of his younger sisters in his travels across the world?

And he got himself trapped in a death game when he really should be searching for them.

Good going, Rantaro. Great job.

…

It was at this point that he decided he needed some kind of distraction.

Something to stop him thinking about how much of a terrible brother he is. For, like, an hour at least.

The distinct tinging sound of some kind of hammer striking some kind of metal very clearly coming from the wooden door with an anvil, hammer and sword painted on it that he had just walked past brought him out of his thoughts.

He turned to the door.

_...That’ll work._

He knocked on the door a few times, but then realised that was a stupid idea since Miko probably couldn’t hear him over whatever he was doing.

He decided instead to push the door open.

Miko had changed out of his pale short-sleeved top – which was hanging on a peg nearby the door – and was instead wearing a dark vest, which seemed a lot more suitable for the conditions he was working in. With his left hand he was holding down a long strip of steel onto the anvil in the centre of the room, the end of which had been heated to a red-hot colour and was being hammered into a sharpened blade.

He lowered the hammer and took a step back to wipe some sweat off his brow when he noticed Rantaro had entered.

“O-oh! Did you want to see me?”

Rantaro laughed awkwardly. “Sorry, did I bother you, or…?”

“No no, it’s fine! I’m practically finished with this part anyway.”

He took the end of the blade with a nearby pair of metal tongs and lifted it down into the quenching tank, the water hissing as it came into contact with the hot metal.

Rantaro seemed impressed. “You’re pretty good at this.”

Miko brushed him off with a chuckle. “It’s nothing, really. I have Oji-san to thank for this.”

“Oh yeah,” Rantaro recalled. “‘Cause your uncle taught you everything, right?”

Miko nodded. “Yes. He’s a lot better than I am, though...”

“Oh come on, don’t say stuff like that.”

“It’s true, though! I’m only ever good at making blades, but Oji-san can make so much more than that! I mean, don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy forging blades, but...” He sighed. “I just wish I’m able to make more than just that...”

Rantaro gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. I’m sure that’ll happen at some point.”

Miko didn’t reply.

It was at this point Rantaro figured that he should change the subject.

He decided he should try to confirm the suspicion him and Haruto had that morning, but how to do that without straight-up asking…?

“Did you talk to Ayano at all after this morning?”

“Huh? Oh, no, I didn’t really feel there was a point in trying to reason with her any longer-”

“No, not just about the coffee. I mean talk, in general.”

Miko shook his head. “That’s also a no. I spent the time before Monokuma’s announcement hammering the metal into shape.”

_Ah, that checks out._ Rantaro thought. _Forging metal does take a long time._

“You seem pretty concerned about her.” Rantaro continued. “And it also looks like you’ve been trying to talk to her for a while. What’s up with that?”

Miko jumped back, his face gaining a notable blush.

“A-aah! I-I, uh…!”

Rantaro smirked.

_Suspicions confirmed._

“D-don’ t look at me like that!” The now flustered Ultimate Bladesmith stammered. “I was just worried on how all that caffeine would affect her sleeping schedule! Th-that’s all!”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “She was fast asleep in the library when I met her. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t _have_ a sleeping schedule.”

“I was just worried that it’d be unhealthy!” He eyed the ground. “...I don’t know, I know barely anything about coffee anyway...”

“What, do you not drink it?”

“Oh, no. Oji-san never really approved of it. We both prefer tea, anyway.”

“Really?”

“Yes! My mother used to collect tea leaves, and I guess that kind of imprinted on me somehow-”

Rantaro stopped him. “Wait, hold on. Your _mother?_”

“Huh?” Miko looked confused, but then froze as soon as he realised what he had said.

“I thought you lived your whole life with your uncle.” Rantaro continued, his eyes starting to narrow.

“U-uh…!” Miko stammered. “J-just...Forget you heard that!”

Rantaro took a step back. “What? Did something happen to her, or-?”

“Nonono, _please__,_ just forget you heard that!”

Rantaro eyed him with concern. “Miko-”

“_**Please!**_”

Rantaro stopped, realising that he had evidently made Miko very uncomfortable.

“...I’m...Sorry.” He bowed his head slightly as he pushed the door back open. “...See you later.”

Miko didn’t reply as Rantaro left the room.

Rantaro closed the door after himself and sighed.

_Looks like whatever happened to his parents has some serious emotional baggage or something._

_But after hearing that, did he NOT spend his whole life with his uncle?_

_Did he live with his parents for a while beforehand or something?_

…

_There’s one scenario I can think of, but I don’t really want to think about it…_

He shook his head and started walking again.

Talking to Miko did help a bit, but it only made him realise that he wasn’t the only person carrying familial baggage.

Which made him start thinking about the motive again.

He grimaced. He didn’t want anyone to find out about what happened to his sisters, let alone everyone at the same time! But that’s what would happen if nobody died.

But if someone died, then…

_NO._

_You’re being selfish again, you idiot! Don’t you remember what happened to Saiko and Kaoru!?_

_You can’t just kill someone for the sake of saving face! That’s exactly what HE-_

“Hey!”

Rantaro stopped and turned around when he heard Yuuma’s voice behind him.

“Oh,” He greeted. “Finally got Rikona off your back?”

Yuuma shrugged. “Temporarily. She’s probably gonna realise I’m gone and start chasing after me in a few minutes.”

“Wait, you left without her noticing?”

“Somehow! I mean it’s a nice gesture, but she reeeeaaaally doesn’t understand how friendship works.”

Rantaro laughed. “So, how you doing?”

Yuuma shrugged. “Surviving, I guess. I mean, dad’s still trapped in hospital and-”

“And your sister?”

Yuuma hesitated. “Uh. Yeah. And we also have this new motive to worry about.”

Rantaro nodded, recalling that Yuuma also looked pretty unsettled by whatever secret Monokuma chose for him.

“What about you?”

Rantaro stopped when he realised he had started talking again. “Huh?”

Yuuma nodded. “You heard me. How are you doing?”

“Oh, me?” He forced a laugh. “Come on. Monokuma’s gonna have to try a little harder than that.”

Yuuma’s eyes narrowed. “Rantaro. We both know you’re lying.”

Rantaro froze. “What?”

“You literally caught me doing the exact same thing a few days ago. I’m not dense.”

_Shit. He’s right._

“I-”

“Look, I guess you don’t want to dump all your emotional baggage on me,” Yuuma continued. “But I think it’s a good idea to practice what you preach.”

Rantaro froze. “...What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean, you coerced me into telling you about my whole thing with my dad and the bitch he married. And yet here you are, not saying anything to anyone. Kinda hypocritical, isn’t it?”

Rantaro turned his eyes to the ground.

“I’m not telling you to tell me.” Yuuma said with a casual shrug. “It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me. I’m just suggesting that you should practice what you preach.”

Rantaro didn’t know what to say to that.

In fact he didn’t really have enough time to come up with a response at all, as he heard the sound of someone running from downstairs.

“GET BACK HEEEEERE!!!” He heard Rikona’s voice scream from downstairs.

Yuuma jumped back. “Aw crap, gotta go! J-just take my advice! BYE!”

He turned tail and sprinted off, his heels rapidly clicking behind him.

Rantaro now had a number of new things to think about. (how the hell Yuuma was able to run so fast in heels being one of them)

But the main thing was that Yuuma was right.

By forcing people to talk to him about their problems and not saying anything about his own, he WAS being a hypocrite.

So what was he meant to do? He can’t exactly tell someone what happened! What would they think of him then!?

Is there anyone here he can really tell anyway? Well maybe there was-

He was stopped by someone putting their hand on his shoulder.

He immediately guessed who it was.

Speak of the devil.

“Kokoro, what are you doing?” He asked.

“Getting you to come with me, that’s what.” She said sternly. Or at least, in a way that attempted to sound stern.

Rantaro turned around to face her. “Are you seriously doing this-”

He stopped when he saw her expression.

Instead of her usual upbeat and optimistic smile, Kokoro was completely serious.

“Kokoro-” A concerned Rantaro started.

She took Rantaro by the wrist.

“We need to talk.”

Kokoro slammed her dorm room door shut and locked it.

Rantaro eyed her with confusion. “...Why are we in your room-?”

“Only guaranteed way of getting privacy.” She replied. “I mean, you want privacy, right?”

Rantaro shrugged. “...Okay.”

Kokoro’s room was pretty similar to Rantaro’s – as all of the student dorm rooms were likely made from the same cut-and-paste design. The main difference were a lot of the shelves were adorned with a number of stuffed animals, likely won from either the arcade or the Monomono machine.

Rantaro also noticed the key from the arcade on one of the shelves.

He deadpanned her. “You’re SERIOUSLY keeping that thing?”

“That’s not the point!” She sat down on the bed and tapped on the space next to her. “Now sit.”

“Kokoro, what-”

“SIT.”

“Okay, fine!” Rantaro sat down next to her.

Neither of them said anything for a few uncomfortable minutes.

Rantaro sighed. “Okay, you have a nice room and all, but why did you bring me here?”

Kokoro looked a little flustered at the compliment, but regained her composure.

“Because we need to talk!”

“Yeah, you said that earlier. About what?”

“About _you,_ that’s what!”

Rantaro froze.

“Don’t think I didn’t see you after you read your motive. Something’s evidently wrong, I can tell that.”

Rantaro gave her a slight glare. “So what, you took me here to try and pry it out of me?”

Kokoro flinched back. “What!? No! I want to help you!”

Rantaro stopped. “...What? Help me?”

“Whatever this thing is must be really bothering you. And I’m...Kinda really worried about it...So I wanted to give you the opportunity to talk about it.”

Rantaro didn’t reply.

_Looks like she beat me to it, huh?_

_Heh...Why should I be surprised._

“So,” Kokoro continued, her blue eyes full of concern. “What’s wrong?”

Rantaro tensed. He wasn’t exactly used to openly talking about what happened, after all.

But maybe she was right. Maybe talking about it will help.

He took a deep breath.

“...It’s about my sisters.”

“Your sisters?” Kokoro asked. “Twelve of them, if I’m remembering right.”

“Yeah. My dad is, and this is putting it lightly...An asshole. Even though some of them were adopted, he never really stuck with one of his mistresses for too long, and somehow always managed to keep custody.” He gave a dry laugh. “My sisters were practically the only silver lining.”

“I see...You really care about them, right?”

“Of course I do. What kind of brother doesn’t?” He sighed. “...I mean, I’ve been an awful older brother, so...”

“Don’t say that! We’ve been kidnapped! You can’t exactly control tha-!”

“No, not that. This is from before we got taken here.”

Kokoro stopped. “From...Before?”

He nodded slowly. “Years ago, actually...Heh...It’s pathetic I haven’t actually sorted it out until now...”

She was now even more concerned. “Sorted...What out?”

“Midori. She was the youngest out of all of them.” Rantaro explained. “She was practically obsessed with me. She always loved following me around and constantly said she wanted to be just like me...Kinda ironic since I’m a terrible role model...”

Kokoro didn’t say anything, but leaned in to show she was listening.

“Anyway,” Rantaro continued. “I had been travelling from country to country on my own for a while, but dad suddenly decided that we were all going on a family trip on his boat.” He grimaced. “Probably to open up a new market somewhere...But that’s not the point. I of course wanted to use this opportunity to get away and see the sights, but...”

He stopped.

“But what?” Kokoro asked.

Rantaro hesitated, not wanting to say the next part.

But he started now. Can’t exactly stop here.

He took a deep breath.

“...But...Midori must have followed me without me noticing...”

Kokoro’s breath hitched.

“I had no idea she was following me,” Rantaro continued. “But I figured out what had happened after I got back to the others...” He looked downward, not wanting to make eye contact. “I felt awful...I had no idea where she was or that she had even followed me in the first place...Dad of course lost it at me for it, but this time I couldn’t blame him.”

“T-that’s…!” Kokoro started.

Rantaro shook his head. “Unfortunately...I’m not done...”

Kokoro stopped and went back to her previous position.

“I spent the next few travels trying to find her, but I never could...” He continued. “But I knew she was alive. She had to be. Unless I saw otherwise, she just had to be. I had to keep going to more and more dangerous places trying to find her, but to no avail...And that’s not even the worst part...”

It became increasingly difficult to talk about this while holding back the impending tears both of them knew were coming, but he decided to power on anyway.

“...Either...Because they insisted that they helped or somehow snuck on the boat without me noticing, my other sisters ended up dragged along on this too. And every time, they go missing as well...It got to the point where all of them were lost because of my stupid mistake...”

Kokoro froze, her eyes widening in horror.

“Why did you think I was so determined to keep travelling across the world in the first place?” Rantaro continued, in a voice dripping with self-disgust. “I knew I needed to find them, but I was somehow never able to, no matter where I went or what I did...They never should’ve been dragged into this! All of this was MY fault!”

“Rantaro-” Kokoro started.

“_**NO!**_ Nothing you can say can change that! I was an idiot for not realising that Midori followed me in the first place! I should have been-!”

He stopped himself, realising that he was getting more and more choked up by each word.

“...A-and now I’m trapped here...And I can’t do anything to help them…And they could be dead or kidnapped or being tortured or being sold off or-” He shook his head. “...I should have been able to protect them...They’re all gone...And it’s all my fault...I’m a failure as a big brother...That’s all I am, isn’t it?...I’m just a failure...”

The resulting silence was suffocating.

Rantaro tensed, bracing himself for Kokoro’s reaction.

_She’s gonna say that she hates me, isn’t she? Either that or she’s gonna kick me out and start pretending I don’t exist anymore because of what I did...I mean I wouldn’t blame her at all, but-_

Kokoro suddenly pulled Rantaro into a hug.

He stopped.

_Wait, what!?_

“I’m sorry...” She said into his chest. “I didn’t realise how bad it was...”

_Wait, hold on, this isn’t right. She’s meant to be saying that she hates me. What the hell is she doing!?_

“But what happened to your sisters wasn’t your fault!”

“W- of course it is!” He stammered, albeit very choked up. “None of this should’ve happened! I should’ve been-!”

“But how were you meant to know that Midori followed you!? That was completely out of your control! You can’t blame yourself for that!”

Rantaro froze.

_W...What…!?_

“You can’t blame yourself for any of this! None of this was your fault! And besides, you’re still searching for them after all this time, right? That shows that you still care about them, if anything!”

She pulled back ever so slightly to look up to him with a reassuring smile.

“You’re not a failure, Rantaro. I promise.”

He cracked.

He couldn’t stop the floodgates from opening and pulled her back in.

Kokoro was a little surprised, but hugged him back.

“It’s okay.” She reassured, gently rubbing circles into his back with her palm. “I’ve got you.”

He couldn’t stop himself from crying. This was even more than after the first execution.

But while those tears were the result of feelings getting crushed, this time was all the years of pent-up self-hate and emotions finally being let out.

He didn’t know how long it took before he finally stopped crying.

Kokoro pulled back, giving him a gentle and reassuring smile. “You feeling any better?”

He had to admit. Unloading all of this did make him feel a lot better than earlier.

Rantaro rubbed a few of the remaining tears and some of the inky-black mix of eyeliner and mascara that was no doubt streaming down his cheeks from his eyes and nodded.

He was smiling for real this time.

“...Yeah...Thank you.”

“I’m glad...” She started, before mumbling something into her hand. “...You know, you’re really pretty when you smile like that...”

Rantaro stopped. “What was that?”

Kokoro blushed, realising that she could be heard. “A-aah! Nothing!”

Rantaro laughed a little. It was a stark contrast to the fact that he was crying his eyes out not even five minutes ago, but he was glad the atmosphere had lightened a bit.

“That’s what your motive was, right?” Kokoro asked.

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah. As you can tell, I...Don’t exactly want everyone to know that...” He shook his head, the tears from before making a threat to come back. “I’m sorry...I shouldn’t have dumped all this onto you...You probably have enough to deal with anyway...”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Talking about it clearly helped, didn’t it?”

Rantaro grimaced a little, but nodded.

“I mean, I think the reason you were feeling so bad was because you didn’t have anyone to talk to about it.” Kokoro continued. “I mean, _have_ you ever talked to anyone other than me about it?”

“Oh, what am I supposed to say? ‘Hey there, I couldn’t help but think about how much of an idiot I am for somehow managing to lose all twelve of my younger sisters across the world. Wow, aren’t I the most useless older brother ever?’ That kind of thing doesn’t exactly come up in conversation.”

“That’s a no, then. But I don’t think that kind of talk helps either.”

“What? What talk?”

“The whole ‘useless older brother’ thing. I don’t think thinking of yourself like that helps.”

“But...I kind of _am!_ I mean, I DID end up losing all of my sisters across the wo-”

Kokoro raised a finger to his mouth.

“...Did…” He started incredulously. “...Did you just _shush me!?_”

“Well, that’s exactly what I mean! If you keep calling yourself a failure and a useless older brother, that’s not gonna help how you feel, is it?” She sighed. “Trust me. I KNOW it’s hard to snap out of that. But you have to try.”

She gave him a reassuring smile. “And besides, you’re still searching for all of them after all this time, right? If anything, that proves that you AREN’T a useless older brother. Well, that’s how I feel at least.”

Rantaro tensed, the tears from earlier now threatening to make a comeback. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned away from her, clapping one hand over the side of his face to cover it.

Kokoro’s brow furrowed in concern. “...Do you need to cry again?”

He moved his hand over to cover his mouth, already feeling the tears starting to spill down his cheeks again. He nodded shakily.

She understood, shuffling ever so slightly closer to him and gently patting on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” He choked out between sobs. “I really shouldn’t be dragging you down with this...”

“Whoa, hey! We’ve just established you don’t need to worry about that!”

Rantaro shook his head.

“I-I know that...It’s just...Y-you’re the first person who’s ever said that...”

Kokoro stopped. “...What!?”

“I’ve never told anyone about this, but the only person who actually knows about it always said I was a useless disgrace because of it...Heh...He’s right, though, isn’t he?”

“What!? No! He’s-!”

Kokoro immediately pulled Rantaro into another hug.

...Well, an awkward hug from the side, but it helped.

It didn’t take much longer for his tears to run dry – he had already let most of them out earlier – but he didn’t get back up at first. He just sat there for a few minutes, gulping in shaky breaths.

Rantaro definitely wasn’t used to being this vulnerable.

He had built up a habit of hiding how he really felt due to living with twelve younger sisters, and that just became what was normal to him.

What wasn’t normal was his raw emotions being laid completely bare. Willingly.

So of course he wasn’t able to handle this.

Kokoro leaned forward a little to half meet his eyes. “Are you okay?”

That was a good question.

Was he?

Even after finally getting his secret off his chest and crying his heart out for the past few minutes, everything still felt unbearably raw and sensitive.

So was he?

Will he ever be?

Rantaro shook his head. “I don’t know...I don’t know anymore...”

Kokoro hummed quietly, gently rubbing her index and middle fingers in circles on his shoulder blade.

“Well, I’m no expert, but I know something that can help you feel better.”

Rantaro finally turned to meet her eyes again. “...What?”

“You, uh,” Kokoro started, pointing to the door. “You wanna come to the arcade with me?”

“The...Arcade?”

“Y’know, to try and take your mind off things and just have some fun. It’ll help, I think. What do you say?”

Rantaro wasn’t sure what to say.

First off, going to the arcade with Kokoro wasn’t going to solve all his problems.

Well, she knew that. She was just asking to spend time with her, wasn’t she?

Maybe spending some time with her _could_ make him feel a bit better.

He sighed and nodded. “Alright.”

Kokoro’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Yeah, but first,” Rantaro gestured to the gunky mixture of eyeliner and mascara that was no doubt streaming in lines down his face. “...I need to get all this off.”

“O-oh. Right. Of course.”

The two of them briefly separated so that Rantaro could spend a few minutes cleaning his face up and reapplying his makeup so he looked somewhat presentable again, before heading to the arcade on the second floor.

Rantaro was never really one for arcade games – whenever he went it was with the rest of the family and he usually preferred to step back and let his sisters have their fun – but he had to admit.

Spending time with Kokoro did make him feel a lot better.

After spending about an hour in the arcade, the two of them headed down to the kitchen, where Kokoro insisted that she made hot chocolate for the two of them.

“Look, you don’t have to do tha-”

“It always helps me when I’m feeling bad! And besides, it’s starting to get late, anyway.”

_Is it?_ Rantaro pulled out his Monopad-Mini and checked the time. It was around 9:30.

_Huh. So it was._

“Well...Yeah it is,” He started, shoving it back into his pocket. “But you shouldn’t feel obligated to do that for me. And besides, I’ve never really had it before now so-”

“You WHAT!?” Kokoro exclaimed. “All the more reason for me to make it then!”

“Kokoro-”

“Ah! You’re not stopping me!”

“Okay, okay.” Rantaro took a step back as Kokoro started preparing the two drinks.

Kokoro started humming some catchy tune – likely one of the songs she performed when she was an idol – as she got the two mugs and a tin of instant hot chocolate mix down from a cupboard.

_She’s really determined to help me, huh?_ Rantaro thought. _I mean, she **really** didn’t have to do any of this, but she’s pretty adamant on it._

_Why the hell is that? After everything I said earlier, she should be hating me right now...So why is she so insistent on doing this?_

“Out of all the things Monokuma chose not to stock,” An irritated Kokoro said, bringing Rantaro out of his thoughts. “He chose not to stock the nice whipped cream you get in cans! Ugh, this would’ve been so much better with that...Either way, it’s done.” She handed Rantaro one of the now full mugs. “Here you go.”

Rantaro took it. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” She took a long sip from her own mug.

Rantaro looked down at his. The liquid was a chocolaty brown (well, duh), but wasn’t too thick. He decided it was about time to try it.

He wasn’t sure what he expected, but this was also pretty good.

“Seriously, what brand does Monokuma get?” He asked.

“How am I supposed to know?” Kokoro replied with a shrug. “This, the tea and the coffee are all ‘Kuma-brand’ or something.”

“Okay then...”

He swirled the hot chocolate in his mug as he thought over how he was going to ask his next question.

“...Why are you doing this?”

Kokoro stopped drinking for a few seconds and looked up. “Huh?”

“Taking me to the arcade, making us drinks- hell, even listening to me in the first place. Why are you doing all this?”

Kokoro gave him a confused look, and put her mug down on the counter. “What are you talking about? I’m doing this because I want to help you.”

“But _why!?_ You should hate me after what I did! I lost all my sisters because of one stupid mistake! You can’t just...Forgive me like that!”

She sighed. “Rantaro, we’ve been over this. You can’t keep beating yourself up over something that wasn’t even in your control.”

Rantaro turned his gaze away from her. “I know that...It’s not that easy after you’ve been doing it for years...”

“Yeah, I know it isn’t easy! But you have to try, got that?”

Rantaro didn’t reply, instead taking another sip from his mug.

“Look,” Kokoro continued. “I get that things have been hurting for a long time because of this, and have only gotten worse since we got here. That’s why I wanted to help.”

Rantaro stopped. “What?”

“I could kinda tell that you needed someone to talk to about stuff, so I decided that I would make it my mission to help you feel better I guess.” She shrugged. “I knew you weren’t doing good, so I wanted to help. Does that answer your question?”

“I guess...” Rantaro started, setting his mug down. “It’s just...The last thing I expected, y’know?”

“What? Why?”

“What happened was…Unimaginable...And even if you keep insisting it’s not my fault, I’m still kinda at the centre of it. And since the only person in my life who knew about what happened kept giving me nothing but hate as a result of it, I never actually expected someone – no, _anyone_ – to hear me out, just like that. I mean...If someone did something as terrible as I did...Would you really listen to them?”

“Well, that’s the thing.” Kokoro said, putting her hand on his shoulder supportively. “You _didn’t_ do anything. Sure, Midori followed you off the boat and that did start a long chain of very bad luck, but you didn’t make her follow you, did you?”

Rantaro cast his eyes downwards.

“See? What happened wasn’t your fault. And I know we’re all trapped here, but we’re gonna get out of here! I know it!” Kokoro smiled reassuringly. “So don’t worry. You’ll be seeing all twelve of your sisters together in no time at all.”

Rantaro’s eyes widened in surprise, but then he smiled back.

Genuinely this time.

“Thank you.”

He pulled her into a hug, and she reciprocated.

This was probably the best Rantaro had felt in the past few days.

It was nice. And he wished this feeling would never end.

Unfortunately, the screen nearby chimed and Monokuma appeared onscreen.

“This is a school announcement. It is now 10pm, which means it is officially nighttime! Upupu...See you tomorrow!”

Rantaro sighed, disappointed. “Looks like it’s time we headed to our dorms...”

“Well, we did have a long day I guess.” Kokoro said with a shrug. “I mean, we can talk tomorrow, right?”

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

The two of them quickly finished their drinks and quickly cleaned up before bidding their farewells and heading to their dorms.

Rantaro didn’t go to sleep at first. He just lay there for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling.

Sure, he still felt sad about everything that happened. And he still didn’t want Monokuma to have the satisfaction of telling everyone tomorrow.

But...He did feel like he had a massive weight taken off his shoulders.

He sighed, finally turning over and closing his eyes.

_I guess getting my secret off my chest really did help._

After being woken up by the morning announcement, Rantaro started to head downstairs to the dining hall.

If Monokuma was true to his word, he only had a few hours before his and everyone else’s secrets were all revealed.

He grimaced. Sure, he didn’t exactly want that to happen even after telling Kokoro everything, but that was inevitable, wasn’t it?

Once he got to the dining hall, he noticed Haruto was there trying to talk to Sachiko.

_He’s doing this again?_ Rantaro thought. _Sure, it didn’t end as bad as I thought it would yesterday, but why does he want to talk to her?_

“Are you sure you don’t need anything?” Haruto asked.

“It’s fine.” Sachiko brushed him off. “You can go do whatever it is you usually do now.”

“Alright,” Haruto shrugged and started to turn around. “But just let me know if you change your mind.”

Sachiko spun around to face him with a confused expression. “...Why are you doing this?”

Haruto turned back around. “What?”

“You always keep saying you want to try and help me, or you want to talk to me, but whenever I say no you always back off.”

Haruto shrugged. “Well, you said no. Why _wouldn’t_ I back off?”

Sachiko’s eyes narrowed. “...Shouldn’t you be chasing after me and insisting that I say yes?”

Haruto scoffed and started laughing.

“What am I, some bland, perverted anime lead? Why the heck would I do _that?_”

“It’s what people like you always do.” Sachiko muttered. “You always sweet-talk girls like me in an attempt to turn them around and make them your personal plaything.”

“Ugh, that’s just gross. I’d never do something like that to anyone. I mean, why would insist someone should change who they are just because you like them? That doesn’t make any sense!”

Sachiko’s eyes narrowed. “...You’re weird.”

Haruto chucked, turning around and starting to walk off. “If you say so.”

He eventually caught sight of Rantaro, who was watching the scene with fascination.

“Hey!” He greeted. “Kept you waiting, huh?”

“Oh?” Rantaro was brought back to attention. “Oh, hey Haruto-”

He deadpanned him. “Formality, remember?”

“Oh, sorry, I forgot about that. You been up for long?”

“Not much,” Haruto replied as the two of them found a table and sat down. “I just noticed she was on her own and wanted to see what was up.”

“Who, Sachiko?” Rantaro asked, noticing the girl in question was leaving the dining hall to go somewhere else.

“Well, yeah. I was just wondering if she wanted to talk or anything.”

“Right, but why? She already said no to you twice, but even if you insist on not forcing her to change her mind or anything, you still really want to talk to her and insist on being nice to her. Why’s that?”

Haruto laughed to himself. “Heh...That’s another thing entirely...”

Rantaro gave him a confused look, before clearing his throat a little and changing the subject.

“You reckon Monokuma’s gonna stick to his word?”

“What, about the motive? I mean, why wouldn’t he? No-one’s died, so it would kinda be weird if he went back on what he said yesterday.”

Rantaro hummed quietly. “I guess that is true...”

“You doing okay?” Haruto asked, concerned. “I mean, you seem to be a bit better than yesterday.”

He shrugged. “I guess. I mean, I don’t exactly want my secret to be told to everyone at the same time. I don’t think anyone does.”

“Oh yeah, preaching with the choir there...” He replied, tracing circles onto the surface of the table with his index finger.

Rantaro realised that now was probably a good opportunity to ask about what he noticed yesterday.

Haruto must have realised Rantaro was going to say something, so he stopped and looked back up to him. “Hm? You wanna say something?”

Rantaro frowned, not sure how he was going to word his question.

_How the hell am I gonna ask this? “Hey I couldn’t help but notice that you also seemed down recently, so how are you-” wait, that doesn’t sound right. “Okay I know you aren’t doing that well either, so-” no no, not right either…_

Haruto was now looking a bit concerned.

“Uh...Rantaro? You doing okay?”

Rantaro took a deep breath and started to talk.

“Actually, are _you-_”

“_AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”_

The two of them froze as soon as they heard the scream.

Rantaro got up and spun around to face the door. “What the hell was _that!?_”

“T-that was Miko, right!?” Haruto asked, also getting up.

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah, that definitely sounded like him.” He pointed to the door. “It sounded like it came from the second floor.”

Haruto nodded. “Right, we should see what’s up.”

Rantaro agreed. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

The two of them sprinted up the two sets of steps to the second floor to try and find him.

“Miko, where are you!?” Rantaro called out as they ran through the halls. “What’s going-”

They stopped running in front of the doors to the changing rooms of the bathhouse that Monokuma showed them two days ago.

Miko was backing away from the now opened door to the male changing room. He had gone completely pale and his expression was one of wide-eyed terror.

“Aah...Aaaah…!”

“Whoa, whoa!” Haruto ran over to his side. “What’s going-”

His breath hitched when he saw what Miko was backing away from.

He put his hand to his mouth in horror. “...O-oh shit…!”

Rantaro realised that there was only one thing this reaction could mean.

But there was no way _that_ could have happened, right? Right!?

Hesitantly, he walked over to the changing room door to see what was inside.

He soon wished he hadn’t.

A discarded Monopad-Mini was lying on the ground, a familiar but now bloodied pocket knife stabbed into it, to make sure it would never turn on again.

Blood was spattered on the changing room’s pristine white carpet.

Blood that was dripping from a slash wound deep in the neck of the dead body lying in the centre of the room.

Rantaro’s breath hitched.

It was Yuuma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUNDUNDUUUUUUN  
I know this doesn't look as brutal as last chapter, but just wait.  
Death number three, everyone! We have reached death number three!  
I don't know if anyone guessed it would be Yuuma (tbh I was kinda worried that I was covering him with way too many death flags), but here we are.  
So who killed our precious Ultimate Jeweller?  
That's for me to know and you to find out, my friend~  
Anyway, thank you for reading until the end! <3
> 
> Please leave your killer theories and comments down below! (and feel free to angrily scream at me if he was your fave *shrug*)


	15. Blood Opal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The killing game is once again proven to be all too real with the discovery of another body, but Rantaro is forced to keep a piece of potentially vital information to himself...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright before the chapter starts, I just need to clarify something.  
I am still working on DanganRWBY, it will just be on pause for a little. I need to do some reworks to some of the storyline so that it makes more sense, and that will take a while. So if anyone is wondering why I'm releasing DFTH faster, that's why.
> 
> Okay now back to your regularly scheduled except not really scheduled Rantaro angst

DING-DONG DONG-DING!

“A body has been discovered! Everyone, please head to the changing rooms on the second floor at once!”

Monokuma’s announcement sounded almost victorious. As if he was saying, “Ha-ha, told ya so! I told you someone was gonna die!”

Rantaro didn’t want to listen. He didn’t want to believe any of this.

But sure enough, the dead body of Yuuma Todoroki was lying right in front of him, the beads from his sliced-apart coral-bead necklace scattered across the floor.

“Y-Yuuma...” He started breathlessly. “...W...Why-”

He was stopped by the inevitable sound of people running over to see what was going on.

“We heard the announcement, what’s going on!?” Ahmya called out. “Monokuma better not be bullshitting us…!”

Rantaro tensed, shaking his head. “...He’s not...”

“But he has to be!” Amai exclaimed, running over to see what was going on. “Someone can’t be deeeaAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”

“Th-this isn’t real, right!?” Kokoro stammered, taking a few shaky steps back. “This has gotta be some kind of trick!”

“We all heard the announcement,” Ayano muttered, lowering her head a little. “This is unfortunately very real...”

Rikona put a hand to her mouth, her eyes beginning to water.

“W-wha?” She suddenly burst into tears. “W-WAAAAAAAAAAH! HE WAS ONE OF THE ONLY PEOPLE HERE I COULD TOLERAAAAAAAATE!”

Rantaro grimaced. Of course Rikona was upset, she had spent the past day trying to befriend Yuuma. She had even made it her personal mission to make him feel better when she noticed he was feeling down.

And now...

“U-uh...” Kokoro started to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I-it’s gonna be okay-”

Rikona, still crying, shoved her hand off. “D-don’t touch me, peasant…!”

_I guess even when she’s grieving, she still won’t get off her high horse…_

Jasper hummed thoughtfully. “It seems that someone truly was willing to kill someone over a secret after all. Such a shame, honestly.”

“Shut your damn mouth!” Haruto snapped. “Yuuma’s DEAD! Don’t you care about that!?”

“What made you assume I wouldn’t? He truly didn’t deserve this fate...” He sighed. “Though it would make sense that someone would go after him. He’s pretty light and doesn’t have any self-defence options. He was essentially a target from the beginning.”

Rantaro was about to say that he DID have a form of self-defence from that knife he got from Monokuma, but kept his mouth shut.

What would the others think if he told them Yuuma had been carrying a knife around?

Actually…

He turned back over to the body.

_Why did he have to die? The whole point of having that knife is preventing this from happening, wasn’t it?_

_So why the hell did Yuuma have to die!?_

It didn’t take much longer for Monokuma to make an appearance.

“Upupu! Looks like this killing game is gonna keep going after all!” He chuckled. “The only bad thing about this is that I can’t reveal everyone’s secrets now, but that doesn’t matter! We have another murder to investigate!”

“What, so we’re gonna be doing that investigation and trial stuff again?” Amai asked.

“Of course! Those are the rules, after all!”

“Actually, before you give us the file, I have a question.” Ayano started.

“Okay, shoot.”

She pointed to the open changing room door. “Yuuma’s body was found inside the boys changing room for the bathhouse. We can’t exactly investigate without looking at the body.”

“Ohh, are you asking if the girls are allowed inside for the investigation?”

Ayano nodded. “Correct.”

“Alright, that can happen. But just for the investigation, so no peeping afterwards!”

Ayano rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Can we have the file now?”

“Of course!”

Everyone got a notification on their Monopad-Minis, showing that the Monokuma File for Yuuma’s murder had been delivered.

Rantaro tapped the screen and started to scroll through it’s contents.

The silhouette didn’t show much; only really detailing the slash across Yuuma’s neck, as well as some less saturated pink marks around it. The text next to it read as follows:

“The victim is Yuuma Todoroki, the Ultimate Jeweller.

His body was discovered in the boys changing room for the bathhouse on the second floor.

He had sustained bruising around his neck, as well as a deep slash wound to the throat.”

_Doesn’t have that much details…_ Rantaro thought. _That checks out. This looks way simpler than Kaoru’s murde-_

_...Wait a second._

Rantaro quickly scrolled through the text again, having noticed something was off.

He then shot a glare at Monokuma.

“Monokuma, what the hell?”

“Hey!” Monokuma snapped. “That is no way to talk to your headmaster-!”

“Yeah no, don’t care. Care to explain why you haven’t said what the cause of death was?”

Monokuma stopped.

“Wait, what?” Kokoro pulled up the screen again, quickly scrolling through the text.

Her eyes widened in shock. “...Oh god, you’re right.”

“What!?” Sachiko snapped. “Monokuma, what the fuck!?”

“Oh, that? Hahaha...” Monokuma laughed nervously, sweating bullets. “That’s, uh...Spoilers.”

“W- _SPOILERS!?_”

“Whoops wouldya look at the time, gotta prepare the punishment! Bye-bye!”

“HEY, GET BACK HERE-!”

Monokuma vanished into thin air just before she could get to him.

Sachiko growled. “That BASTARD!”

“I agree.” Ayano said. “Monokuma was wrong not to include Yuuma’s cause of death.”

“Why the hell would he do that!?” Haruto exclaimed. “Does he not want us to solve this murder or something!?”

“No, it’s a lot simpler than that.” Jasper casually answered, adjusting his glasses as he did. “Monokuma thought the case was too easy.”

Rantaro turned to him. “What?”

“Think about it. Monokuma has complete control over the contents of the file, and it’s very obvious that he knows who the killer is in advance. Maybe he saw something that would give part of the case away if we found it, so he took it out of the file to get us to figure it out for ourselves.” He shrugged. “Not that hard to understand, really.”

“So what you’re saying is, he took out the cause of death because he was an asshole?”

Jasper smiled and nodded. “Now you’re getting it.”

“Yeah, but why?” Amai asked. “The killer slashed him in the neck. It looks pretty obvious to me.”

“If that was the case, why didn’t Monokuma say so? It could be more complicated than that. Either that or this whole omitted cause of death thing is just a red herring. Either or.”

Rantaro frowned uneasily.

_Jasper certainly knows his way around these investigations…_

“So,” Jasper said, clapping his hands together. “We should get started. No time like the present, as they say.”

“Yes, but how?” Ahmya asked. “We don’t have a cause of death.”

“True, but that doesn’t mean we can’t see if there’s anything else of importance.”

“As much as I hate to admit it,” Rantaro said. “Jasper’s right. We can’t let the fact that Monokuma’s screwing with us get in the way of our investigation.”

Jasper smiled and winked. “Oh, Ran-Ran. You flatter me.”

Rantaro grimaced. “We’re investigating a murder. Have some respect.”

Jasper simply chuckled in response, prompting Rantaro to roll his eyes and get on with the investigation.

However, before he could go inside the changing room to get a closer look at the body, Kokoro stopped him by tugging on his sleeve.

“What’s up?” He asked.

“Do you mind if I take a quick look in the girls’ changing room?”

“Huh? Why?”

“I was just wondering if there could be any evidence in there. The killer could’ve used it to hide stuff.”

“Kinda far-fetched, Kokoro.”

Kokoro shrugged. “Doesn’t hurt to check.”

Rantaro seemed indifferent. “Knock yourself out. Just don’t spend the whole time in there, okay?”

She nodded. “Okay!”

Briefly nodding back, Rantaro turned and took a few reluctant steps into the boys changing room to get a closer look at Yuuma’s body.

True to the Monokuma File’s word, there was a deep slash wound across his neck. The killer mustn’t have bothered to move his necklace out of the way, as it had been sliced in half with the coral beads scattered everywhere.

Rantaro frowned uneasily.

Yuuma was his friend. The events of the first trial had stressed him out greatly, and had even forced him into carrying a knife for protection. So why did someone have to kill him?

“You find anything?”

Rantaro was so lost in his thoughts that he nearly jumped out of his skin when Haruto addressed him.

“Nothing much,” He answered. “Monokuma wasn’t lying about the neck wound though...”

Haruto grimaced, pulling his fedora down slightly as if in respect.

“Poor kid...He didn’t deserve this...”

Rantaro was about to say something to agree, when Jasper spoke up instead.

“Yeah, no. You missed something.”

The two of them jumped back, as Jasper had once again used what seemed like teleportation to appear in on the other side of the body.

Rantaro noticed that he was rubbing two fingers against Yuuma’s neck.

“W- hey! Stop that!”

“Relax,” Jasper replied, seemingly indifferent to the fact that he was touching a dead person’s slashed-open neck. “I’m just cleaning some of the blood away to show you.”

Rantaro was about to object again when Jasper seemingly found what he was looking for.

He smirked. “Thought so. The Monokuma File wasn’t lying after all.”

“What is it?” Haruto asked.

Jasper pointed to a spot on Yuuma’s neck. “Look closer.”

He had cleaned away a large area of the blood, which revealed a number of dark purple splodges in a line circling around Yuuma’s neck.

Rantaro’s eyes widened and he flinched back slightly. _W-what is-!?_

“Bruising. See?” Jasper answered, tracing his fingers across the line. “Monokuma mentioned it in the file. Just needed to make sure.”

_Okay, so he’s still doing the mind-reading thing then._

“I’m no medical expert,” Rantaro started. “But that usually means strangulation, right?”

“Unless someone was somehow able to punch across Yuuma’s neck in a perfectly straight line, then yes.”

“How?” Haruto asked, briefly looking around the room. “I can’t see anything that could strangle someone in here. And why!? There’s a VERY clear slash across his neck!”

Jasper’s eyes narrowed in irritation. “Are you dense? It explains why Monokuma never said the cause of death.”

Rantaro stopped. “What?”

“He didn’t say the cause of death because there’s two options. See?” He pointed to the slash wound and then the bruising as he stated the respective options. “Slit throat and strangulation. It’s really not that hard.”

“What, so Monokuma’s helping the killer?”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

“Wait,” Haruto started. “But doesn’t he go on and on about this killing game being fair and stuff? Rigging the investigation in the killer’s favour isn’t exactly fair!”

“That’s because he _isn’t_. If he was directly rigging the investigation, there wouldn’t be enough evidence for us to even investigate in the first place. And besides, he doesn’t even have a reason to.” He flashed a glance at something out of the other two’s vision. “_Does he?_”

Haruto was unnerved. “What are you looking at?”

“That’s none of your business. Anyway,” He got back up and dusted his hands off. “It looks like we’re done here.”

“Already?” Rantaro questioned, as him and Haruto also got up. “But we literally just looked at his neck.”

Jasper shrugged. “Doesn’t really look like anything else on his body is important. Anything else here, really. Well,” He pointed to the Monopad-Mini impaled with a knife a few feet away. “Aside from that.”

Rantaro decided to go over and take a closer look, immediately removing the knife to inspect it further.

Even with all the blood coating the blade, his suspicions were confirmed.

This was definitely the pocket knife Yuuma got from Monokuma.

“What the heck is that!?” Haruto questioned. “I’ve never seen anything like that before!”

Rantaro stopped, remembering that he was the only person now who knew about Yuuma carrying a knife.

He wasn’t sure if he wanted them to know about it, so he decided the best way around this was a white lie.

“I’m not sure,” He said, turning over the knife in his hand. “But this definitely looks like the murder weapo-”

“POSSIBLE murder weapon.” Jasper corrected. “Still don’t know what the cause of death is.”

Rantaro rolled his eyes and groaned.

“Alright, _possible_ murder weapon.” He repeated, flashing a quick glare at Jasper. “Going by all the blood and all.”

“Yeah, but where would the killer have gotten it?” Haruto asked. “For starters, that’s DEFINITELY not a kitchen knife!”

Rantaro grimaced. “Yeah, can definitely agree with you there.”

“Hmm...You reckon it’s possible Miko made it? I mean, he’s the Ultimate Bladesmith, right?”

“You’re such a dunce.” Jasper said bluntly. “That thing obviously has a connection with Monokuma.”

“W- hey! What did you just call me!?”

Jasper ignored this and walked over to Rantaro, taking the knife from him and flipping the blade in and out a few times.

“It’s obvious. For starters, look at the colour scheme. Red, white and black? Those are the only colours Monokuma has.”

Haruto, still a bit pissed off by the prior comment, pressed his lips into a firm line and nodded. “Yeah, guess you could say that...”

“And second, it’s not just any knife. It’s a pocket flipknife. You don’t exactly find these just lying around. And I don’t think Miko would make something like this. He specialises in swords, anyway.”

“So what, that knife has something to do with Monokuma?”

Jasper hummed thoughtfully. “What I’m thinking is, maybe someone got it from Monokuma directly.”

“Wait, what? How!?”

“As in maybe they stole it from him. Or they got it from that machine in the rec room. Or the more likely option...”

He flashed a look directly towards Rantaro, his eyes gaining a slight glow again as he smirked maliciously.

“_Maybe they just asked._”

Rantaro froze.

_W-what the hell...!? Does he know about that!?_

Haruto didn’t seem to notice this reaction though. “Okay, can you stop doing the glowy-eye thing? It’s weird.”

Jasper pouted. “Rude, much?”

“Whatever,” Haruto shook his head, picking up the Monopad-Mini the knife was embedded in and pressing the on button a few times.

He frowned. “Damn. Thing’s completely busted.”

Jasper deadpanned him. “It had a knife inside of it.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“Either way,” Rantaro said. “Haruto has a point. It is annoying that we can’t turn it on. Since now we have no idea who this could’ve belonged to.”

“Well yeah, but it’s pretty obviously Yuuma’s, right?”

Rantaro shrugged. “We can’t know for sure now.”

“And there’s still the question of why the killer went to the trouble of destroying it, anyway.” Jasper added.

“Maybe they used Saiko or Kaoru’s to get in or something?” Haruto suggested. “And then they wrecked it so we wouldn’t find out.”

Jasper shook his head. “Yeah, no.”

“What? Why not?”

“Look at the scanner.”

“...What?” Rantaro asked.

“Go outside and look at the scanner. Do it.”

Despite still being confused by the request, Rantaro shrugged and went to look at the scanner.

It was at this point that he found what Jasper was talking about.

Another discarded Monopad-Mini was lying on top of the scanner.

“Huh?” He picked it up.

“Another one!?” Haruto asked, confused. “Who’s it belong to?”

Rantaro pressed the on button.

“...It’s Saiko’s.”

Haruto’s eyes widened in surprise. “W-what!?”

Jasper smirked. “See?”

“Shut up!”

“Either way,” Rantaro said. “Jasper’s probably right. The killer likely used this to get in.”

“Why would they leave it there?”

Jasper shrugged. “They’re really dumb, probably.” He winked. “Hey, that makes you a suspect.”

“I said shut up!”

Rantaro narrowed his eyes in frustration. “Jasper, leave him alone.”

Jasper pouted. “Ever the funkiller, Ran-Ran.”

“_Please_ stop calling me that.”

Jasper chuckled to himself, as the girls changing room door opened and Kokoro walked out.

“Oh?” She said, noticing Rantaro. “You done in there already?”

“Not quite. I just found this.” He showed her the Monopad-Mini. “It’s Saiko’s. They probably got it from that desk in the foyer.”

“Huh? Why would it be there?”

“Jeez, you too, Hikari?” An annoyed Jasper quipped from inside the boys changing room. “They obviously used it to get in. And to think I used to have faith in you.”

Rantaro brushed him off. “Ignore him. You find anything?”

Kokoro hummed. “Not much. One of the towels had been left on the floor and one of the mirrors was broken.” She sighed. “I just thought there would be more in there to find.”

Rantaro shrugged. “Well it looks like Yuuma was murdered in here, so that’s not that surprising.”

“Actually,” Jasper said, walking over to them. “Is it just me who’s noticed this?”

“Noticed what?” Rantaro asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Jasper gestured to his surroundings. “This room looks barely touched. Am I the only one who finds that strange?”

Rantaro quickly scanned the changing room, finding that Jasper was right. All the towels were in clean piles, the mirror didn’t have any smudges or fingerprints, and it looked like the carpet was barely stepped on.

“...Well, we’ve never actually used the bathhouse. It would make sense that the room would reflect that.”

Jasper looked almost disappointed. “Oh. So you _don’t_ see it?”

“...See what?”

Jasper gave a resigned sigh, with an equally resigned shrug. “Oh, well. It will probably come up in the trial, anyway.”

“Jasper,” Kokoro started. “If there’s something you’re not telling us, it’ll be a lot better to just spit it out now.”

“And why would I do that, Hikari?” He smiled menacingly. “People want these trials to be interesting, after all.”

“‘People’? The only person who wants the trials to be interesting is Monokuma.”

Jasper laughed to himself, prompting a resigned Haruto to walk out of the room.

“Whatever, it looks like we’re done in here anyway.” He said. “I’m gonna talk to other people, see if I can get any alibis.”

Rantaro nodded. “Good call. See you later.”

“Yeah, see you later.”

As Haruto left, Kokoro turned to Rantaro with a raised eyebrow.

“You’re still yet to tell me what you guys found in there.”

“Oh, right. Sorry. Well we-”

“Mind if I interject?”

Yet again, Rantaro had completely forgotten about Jasper.

He rolled his eyes and groaned. “What do you want, Jasper? If it’s not important, get lost already.”

Jasper pouted. “Well, if you’re going to be like that, I guess I won’t tell you.” He started to walk off. “I guess you don’t want to know the possibly important information I have about this case, then...”

“Wait, stop, stop, stop!” Kokoro called out. “You know something about Yuuma’s death!?”

Jasper turned back around. “You always seem to change your tune whenever you want something.” He sighed. “Quite tragic, honestly...”

Rantaro deadpanned him. “Just tell us already.”

Jasper gasped in mock offence. “Not if you’re going to be rude!”

“Alright...Tell us.”

There was a brief silence.

Jasper raised an expectant eyebrow.

Rantaro groaned in frustration.

“...Please.”

Jasper immediately snapped to a happier demeanour. “Well since you asked so politely, I just HAAAVE to tell you~!”

“Just get on with it...”

“Alright, alright...” Jasper walked back over before starting to explain.

“I thought I heard a noise during the night, so I pushed my door open ever so slightly to see what was going on. And lo and behold, Yuuma, was scurrying away from his room. I mean with those loud heels of his, it’s no surprise he woke me up.”

“So the murder happened last night?” Kokoro asked.

“It’s possible. But he’s not the only one I saw leave.”

“Really?” Rantaro asked. “Who?”

“There was a time difference, but counting Yuuma, three people left their rooms during the night.” Jasper explained. “Yuuma, Rikona, and Sachiko. In that order.”

“So does that mean both of them are suspects?”

“Most likely. But it’s possible that more people left without me noticing later on.”

“Huh.” Rantaro raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You’re...Actually helping us.”

Jasper smiled. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know, you did kinda play a pivotal role in the last murder. And you did try to kill Amai with cyanide. And...You are probably crazy.”

Jasper looked annoyed by the last comment. “‘Crazy’ is quite insensitive, don’t you think?”

“Well,” Kokoro said with a shrug. “You probably are.”

“Well, I can assure you there is nothing wrong with my brain.” He tapped the side of his temple with a smirk. “This thing’s working in perfect condition.”

Rantaro was about to object to this, but he had his doubts. And he honestly didn’t want to start an argument with Jasper right now.

“Alright, fine. Thanks for the info.”

Jasper winked. “No problem.”

“And you’d better not be playing anymore bullshit games during the trial again.”

“Eheh...Can’t make any promises~”

Rantaro shook his head and walked off, with Kokoro at his side.

He quickly relayed all the evidence that the three of them found; the knife (without mentioning it being Yuuma’s), Saiko’s Monopad-Mini and the two possible causes of death.

“Two causes of death?” Kokoro echoed. “That’s pretty excessive, don’t you think?”

“Well, it means that we have two options.” Rantaro explained. “We just have to wait until the trial to figure it out.”

“Uh-huh...So Jasper brought up Rikona and Sachiko, right? Maybe we should talk to them.”

“Maybe. But I think it might be a good idea to talk to Miko first.”

“Miko? How come?”

“Well, he was the one who found the body. He might have some more information for us.”

“Good point. Let’s find him.”

The two of them eventually found Miko, who had purposely distanced himself from the rest of the group. He had his back to them so Rantaro couldn’t see his face, but he apparently had his hand over his mouth and it sounded like he was hyperventilating.

_He must be really shaken by seeing Yuuma’s body…_

Kokoro tapped him on the shoulder – more accurately, she couldn’t reach his shoulder, and ended up tapping his upper arm instead.

“Miko?” She asked. “Mind if we talk to you?”

Miko jolted at the touch, and after managing to get his breathing under control and muttering “get it together you idiot, get it together” a few times, he turned back around.

He still seemed a bit shaken. “What is it?”

“You found the body, right? Can you tell us what happened?”

Miko flinched back. “U-uh...”

“It’s okay.” Rantaro reassured. “Just tell us what happened, alright? And where were you last night?”

“W-well...” Miko started. “I was with Ayano.”

Kokoro seemed surprised by this. “Ayano?”

“Well, kind of...Rantaro, you know how I’m worried about her sleeping schedule, right?”

Rantaro deadpanned him. “You didn’t watch her sleep, did you.”

“What!? No! ANYTHING but that!” He stammered. “I just wanted to make sure she got to sleep after the nighttime announcement, is all.” He then averted his gaze. “I-it’s just...”

“Just what?” Kokoro innocently asked.

He was starting to blush a little. “U-uh...I...I was very tired after working in my lab after most of the day, and I...May or may not have...Accidentally fallen asleep in her chair...”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow.

_Suspicions DEFINITELY confirmed._

“How do you _accidentally fall asleep in her chair!?_” Kokoro exclaimed.

“I-i-it was an accident! I swear!” Miko sputtered, the blush now even more prominent.

“Well it means he has an alibi for last night, if Ayano can confirm it.” Rantaro mused. “So what happened this morning?”

“Well, after the morning announcement,” Miko explained. “I had immediately realised what had happened. I doubt Ayano had any intention on waking up, so I decided to head to my lab. However, when I walked past the male changing room, I noticed that someone had left their tablet on the scanner.”

_He must have noticed Saiko’s Monopad-Mini and not realised it was his. _Rantaro thought.

“So what happened?” He asked.

“I...I thought that someone had gone in there last night and had left it there by mistake, so I thought I should go inside to see if they left anything else. B-but when I opened the door...”

He forced his eyes shut and shook his head, apparently even thinking about finding the body was some kind of trigger. “I can’t do this! _I can’t do this!_”

“It’s okay, it’s okay!” Rantaro reassured. “You’ve told us everything you needed to, alright? Calm down.”

Miko managed to slow down his breathing again for the most part. “...O-okay...I-I’m sorry...”

“You don’t have to apologise, Miko. You told us what you knew, and that’s okay. Got it?”

He shakily nodded. “O-okay...”

“Kokoro and I are gonna find Rikona. It’s gonna be okay, alright?”

Miko nodded again, prompting the two of them to head off to find Rikona.

Thankfully, it didn’t take them too long to find her. The girl in question was sitting against a wall and sobbing almost dramatically.

“Y-Yuuma...WAAAAAAAH! WHYYYYYYY!?”

“Hey hey hey,” Rantaro started as he walked over, kneeling on the ground to get down to her level. “Calm down. I just need to talk to you for-”

“I CAN’T calm down! Yuuma was one of the only tolerable people out of all the peasants here! And now he’s DEAD!”

“Alright, alright. I get you’re upset, but-”

“I coulda been able to do somethiiiiing! Waaaaaaahahahahhhhh!”

Rantaro stopped her. “Wait, what was that last part?”

“E-eeh?”

“You said you could’ve been able to do something. Why, did something happen last night?”

“U-uh...” She snivelled a little. “Y-yes.”

“Tell me what happened.”

“I needed to shower myself before going to bed, so I decided I should go to the bathhouse.”

“Wait, why didn’t you just use the shower in your dorm?” Kokoro asked.

“It feels too much like a commoner’s tool! I was stuck with it before now, but that doesn’t mean I have to use it again!” She scoffed – well, half-scoffed since she was still kinda crying. “What kind of peasant do you take me for!?”

Kokoro turned to Rantaro with a raised eyebrow. “...Narcissism?”

Rantaro sighed. “...Narcissism...” He turned back to Rikona. “Alright, so you went to the bathhouse last night. What happened next?”

“Well, just as I had gotten changed and was ready to head back up to my room,” Rikona explained. “I heard something through the wall...”

“Through the wall? You mean, in the boys changing room?”

“I couldn’t quite hear it clearly, but it sounded like arguing.”

“That must’ve been when he was attacked by the killer.” Kokoro noted.

“B-but then,” Rikona continued. “It escalated into banging and crashing, so I panicked and ran...But now we found Yuuma’s body in there and...And...WAAAAAAAAH!”

“Whoa, it’s okay, it’s okay-!” Rantaro attempted to console her.

“IT’S NOOOOT! I COULD’VE BEEN ABLE TO GET ONE OF THOSE TABLETS FROM DOWNSTAIRS AND GONE INSIDE! BUT I DIIIDN’T!”

“It’s alright. You weren’t thinking back then and you just panicked. Hell, if I heard banging from next door, I would’ve panicked too.”

She snivelled a little. “R-really?”

“Yeah. Anyone would’ve. So hang tight, okay? We’re gonna find the person behind this. Promise.”

She shakily nodded before starting to cry again, albeit quieter this time.

Rantaro got the impression that the conversation was over, so him and Kokoro turned around and started to leave.

“She’s really torn up about Yuuma’s death, huh?” Kokoro said.

“Of course she is. You saw how desperately she wanted to be his friend, right? At least, that’s the impression I got. Almost makes me feel sorry for her.”

Kokoro hummed. “So what now?”

“Hmm...Well if Jasper’s telling the truth, I think we should talk to Sachiko next.”

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Seriously? I don’t think she’d be willing to talk to us. And I don’t think there’s much time left until the trial starts. And besides, that’s if Jasper’s telling the truth at all!”

“Well, going by Rikona’s word, it’s all we have. So it would be a good idea to at least try.”

Kokoro nodded uneasily. “Right...”

They eventually found Sachiko, who was standing with her arms folded and avoiding any conversation or eye-contact.

_Makes sense._ Rantaro thought.

“Hey, Sachiko?”

She growled under her breath and turned away from them.

“Sachiko, we just want to talk to you.”

She didn’t reply.

Rantaro narrowed his eyes in half-annoyance. “Look, you do realise that you’ll only look more suspicious to me if you don’t talk, right?”

Sachiko growled and turned back around. “Fine…! What do you want?”

“Well,” Rantaro started. “Jasper said he saw you leaving your room last night.”

She shrugged. “So what if I did?”

_So Jasper wasn’t lying after all...Huh._

“Going by the evidence we have, Yuuma’s murder likely happened last night.”

Sachiko growled and shot them a menacing glare. “What, you think I’m the killer or something?”

“What!? No!” Kokoro exclaimed.

“Actually, kinda.” Rantaro said at the same time.

Sachiko raised an eyebrow.

Kokoro shot Rantaro a look as if to say “Rantaro, you can’t just say that!”

Rantaro didn’t care.

“Can you just tell us what you were doing and if you saw anything? It’ll make you look a lot less suspicious to everyone if you do.”

Sachiko rolled her eyes, annoyed. “Ugh...I was just going to get some water. That’s it. And other than the uptight girl with a hat running past me blubbering in tears as I was going down to the ground floor, I saw nothing.”

_That must’ve been when Rikona ran back to her room. So that proves her alibi if Sachiko’s telling the truth._

“Alright, anyone who can back this up?”

She scowled. “The fuck do you care?”

“I’ll take that as a no. So you left your room in the middle of the night to get a drink, but nobody saw you. Is that it?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“It means you have an alibi nobody can prove.” Rantaro narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “You do realise how suspicious that is, right?”

“What, you _still_ think I’m the killer?” Sachiko scoffed. “Typical.”

“I’m not saying you’re the killer. I’m just saying that you could be a suspect.”

“Well suspect me all you want. I don’t give a shit.” She waved them off. “You two can fuck off now.”

Kokoro flinched. “So you’re not gonna tell us anything else-?”

“What’d I just say? Get out of my sight.”

She flinched again. “O-okay…!”

Rantaro grimaced. “Fine. But don’t be surprised if everyone suspects you.”

Sachiko scoffed and turned away from them again, prompting Rantaro and Kokoro to take a step back.

“Do you actually think she could be the killer?”

Rantaro hummed thoughtfully. “I’m not sure...I mean she’s acting very suspiciously, but it almost seems _too_ obvious.”

“Well, she had the opportunity, right? She would’ve just used Saiko’s Monopad-Mini to get in. And besides, she’s the Ultimate Delinquent, right? It makes sense that she would have a secret pocket knife on her!”

Rantaro frowned, realising that Kokoro was in fact talking about Yuuma’s knife.

He shook his head.

“Again, I’m not sure. We just have to wait until the trial, then things will start to make sense-”

DING-DONG DONG-DING!

Almost as if on cue, the chime sounded through one of the speakers and the screen on it came to life.

“Attention, all students!” Monokuma announced. “The class trial is about to begin! Everyone, head down to the main foyer at once, because it’s time for the moment you’ve all been waiting for! Upupu!”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “...Huh. Speak of the devil.”

“Oh, is it time for the trial already?”

Rantaro groaned. “...Jasper, how long have you been standing behind me for?”

Jasper chuckled. “Not too long, actually. I was just waiting for the trial to begin. I mean, it’s our chance to find Yuuma’s killer and get them executed, isn’t it?”

Rantaro flinched back.

Execution. Of course.

Whoever killed Yuuma would have to die in return.

He grimaced. “We’re not actively trying to kill Yuuma’s murderer, Jasper. We just want to solve the murder case. That’s all.”

Jasper tilted his head in amusement. “Oh, really? That’s all?” He smirked. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”

Rantaro growled under his breath.

_Even now, Jasper’s still being like this?_

“Hey,” Kokoro said. “Just ignore him. We have a murder to solve, right?”

Rantaro turned to her and nodded. “Right.”

Jasper rolled his eyes. “Ugh, rude? We ALL have a murder to solve. I’m involved in this trial, whether you like it or not.”

Rantaro shot Jasper a glare. “Yeah, unfortunately. But we’re not falling for any of your bullshit tricks this time.”

“Tricks? Why would I do that?”

Rantaro stopped. “What?”

“There’s no point in me playing with you this time. Now, I wish to help you.”

Rantaro raised his eyebrows in shock.

“You...Want to HELP us?” He said, before going back to a deadpan expression. “Yeah, I’ll believe THAT when I see it.” He turned around and started to go downstairs with Kokoro in tow.

Jasper laughed from behind them. “Oh, well. The option is still there when you need it~!”

Rantaro sighed, choosing instead to tune Jasper out as everyone continued their journey to the ground floor.

_Sure. Jasper’s gonna help us this time. Like I’d believe that._

_...Well...He did help a bit during the investigation…_

_Huh. Guess I’ll have to wait until the trial._

Everyone eventually arrived at the foyer, where the elevator was already open and waiting for them.

“Monokuma not gonna show up?” Amai asked.

Ahmya shrugged. “He didn’t last time. And besides, I’d rather not see him right now.”

“...You’re gonna be seeing him in a few minutes.” Ayano pointed out.

Ahmya shrugged. “Same difference.”

“Whatever,” Rantaro said. “We shouldn’t be dawdling right now. We have to find out who killed Yuuma, remember?”

“Well yes,” Miko started. “But we all remember what happened to Saiko, right?” He frowned and eyed the ground, shaking his head nervously. “I-I...Don’t want to see anything like that ever again...”

Rantaro grimaced. “None of us do...”

“But we have to deal with it if we want to bring Yuuma’s killer to justice, don’t we?” Jasper said with a casual shrug.

“Like it or not, Jasper’s kinda right here. If we want to solve this case, we have to watch Yuuma’s killer die too...”

“I don’t care!” Tsumugi snapped. “Can we just get this damn trial over with already!?”

Rantaro sighed. “...Okay. Let’s get this over with.”

Everyone agreed, heading into the elevator.

When the elevator began it’s descent, Rantaro decided to use this opportunity to catch up with Haruto.

“Hey,” He said. “You find anything?”

Haruto shook his head. “Not really, unfortunately. Most of the people I talked to were either asleep or in their dorms when the murder happened.”

“That’s a pain. So anyone can still be the killer, really...”

Haruto nodded solemnly.

Kokoro appeared beside Rantaro. “That’s okay, though. We’ll be able to talk things over in the trial, remember?”

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah. Things will make a lot more sense then, hopefully.”

“I guess so.” Haruto said with a nod. “Yeah, here’s hoping.”

“Yeah. Here’s hoping indeed.”

With that, the elevator opened, with Monokuma already waiting to welcome them back to the trial grounds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now the second class trial is about to begin! Upupu, how exciting!  
Who do you think the killer is? Is keeping the truth about the knife secret a good idea? Is Jasper really gonna help them for real this time?  
...No, seriously, is Jasper actually helping or not?
> 
> Please leave any theories in the comments! I love hearing them!  
And thank you all so much for reading this far! <3


	16. Something Isn't Right Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second trial begins. But even as theories and accusations are thrown around, it seems that the discussion is getting nowhere...

“Hello, everyone! Welcome again to Starlight Academy’s trial grounds!” Monokuma announced as everyone made their way to their podiums. “Hopefully you all remember the rules, but you can never be too safe, so here’s a refresher!”

Rantaro decided to tune the rest of Monokuma’s speech out. It was the same thing he said last time, anyway.

The main thing that caught his eye was that the portrait at what would have been Kaoru’s podium if he lived to see the first trial wasn’t the only portrait there anymore.

As expected, Yuuma’s podium had also been filled with a portrait, this time with a simple ‘X’ crossing over his face.

The portrait on Rantaro’s left, however, had been crossed over with an inverted Ankh – the Egyptian symbol for death.

Rantaro instinctively flinched back.

Saiko. Of course.

He somehow hadn’t thought about the Ultimate Historian in so long that he forgot that he wouldn’t be standing there.

Not to mention, all three portraits were right next to each other.

Seeing all of the empty places where people should have been lined up on his left, Rantaro felt like the three of them were judging him. Looking down at him with contempt for not being able to do anything to prevent their deaths.

Haruto, on the podium to Rantaro’s right, noticed Rantaro’s discomfort.

“You okay?”

Rantaro took a deep breath and nodded. “...Mostly.” He subtly gestured to the three portraits on his left. “Just...Startled me.”

Haruto leaned forward a little to get a better look at Saiko’s portrait, before returning to his original position with a grimace and shaking his head.

“Try not to think about him.” He reassured. “We have to find Yuuma’s killer, remember?”

Rantaro nodded. “Right.”

Monokuma had just about finished his explanation of the rules.

“Alright!” He chimed. “So let’s get this trial started!”

“Okay,” Rantaro said. “Where do we start?”

“Well we need to address the massive elephant in the room.” Tsumugi answered, idly twirling the curl at the end of her ponytail around her finger. “Why the fuck that Build-a-Bear reject never said what the cause of death was.”

“What, did you not look at the body?”

She tutted. “Why would I?”

“...Because that’s the main thing you do in a murder investigation. How stupid are you?”

Tsumugi growled in frustration. “You son of a…!”

“Easy, you two.” Ayano said in a monotone voice. “We can’t be arguing at this early of a stage. Though I am intrigued, what on the body answered Tsumugi’s question?”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “...Did...You not look at the body either?”

Ayano tilted her head in confusion. “Eeeeh?”

“Okay, hold on. Did ANYONE aside from me, Haruto and Jasper take a closer look at the body?”

Silence.

Rantaro brought his hand to his head in frustration. “For fuck’s sake...Well, can anyone at least guess?”

“Well, we read the file,” Ahmya said. “And I think I see what you’re saying. Sure it said about the massive slash in Yuuma’s neck, but it also said stuff about bruising on his neck too.”

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah, that’s exactly it.”

Ayano hummed quietly. “Bruising on the neck...That usually indicates strangulation.”

“Again, exactly it. The reason Monokuma never told us the cause of death was because there are _two_ potential causes of death. He just wanted us to figure out which one it was.”

Ahmya raised an eyebrow. “So in short, he’s an asshole?”

“Already clear, but yeah.”

“Why are there two causes of death, anyway?” Amai asked. “I mean, why strangle someone when you could slice their neck? And the other way around, too.”

“I think that’s what we need to figure out.” Kokoro answered. “Because if the killer strangled Yuuma to death, there isn’t really much point in using the knife. And why would you strangle someone after slitting their throat?”

“Maybe,” Haruto suggested. “They started to strangle him, and then used the knife on his neck to make sure he was dead or something.”

Rantaro hummed thoughtfully. “Possibly...But we don’t know for sure.”

“Grrrr…!” Rikona growled. “Not only did someone dare to kill Yuuma, but they also found a way to confuse us about it! Unforgivable!”

“I think the murder part is _more_ unforgivable...” Kokoro pointed out.

“Is there even anything to use to strangle someone in the changing room, though?” Tsumugi asked. “Because I don’t think there is. And you idiots didn’t seem to find a rope in there either.”

“The ‘idiot’ part wasn’t necessary,” Haruto answered with a slight frown. “But you’re right, we didn’t find a rope or anything.”

“What if the killer put the rope somewhere we couldn’t find it?” Miko suggested. “Then we wouldn’t have been able to find it during the investigation.”

“Well, is there anywhere we can even _get_ a rope?” Tsumugi asked. “Because the killer can’t exactly hide one of the ropes from the stage room on them. Yuuma would’ve noticed it and ran.”

“Tsumugi has a point,” Kokoro said. “So is there anywhere else the killer could find a rope?”

“They could have used one of the bowstrings from Ahmya’s lab.” Haruto suggested.

Ahmya shook her head. “Nope. Not possible. Those things take ages to untie. Even tried it myself, I wasn’t able to get one untied.”

“What about Yuuma’s lab?” Ayano proposed. “I presume there were cords provided for making necklaces and such.”

“I dunno,” Haruto said. “Those things are pretty thin. I’m pretty sure the bruises would’ve been smaller if the killer used one of those.”

Rantaro hummed quietly. “I think we should drop how Yuuma was strangled for now. It’s getting way too confusing.”

“Preaching with the choir there...What should we talk about next?”

“The knife, perhaps?”

Rantaro stopped when Jasper spoke up. He hadn’t said anything during the trial until this point, and the fact that he was bringing up the knife startled him.

“Oh yeah, that weird knife that had been stabbed into that Monopad-Mini!” Amai said. “What the heck even IS that knife, anyway?”

“A good question,” Ayano mused. “As we have never seen a knife like that in the academy before.”

“Yeah,” Haruto agreed. “It wasn’t like any of the knives from the kitchen. It was like, this pocket knife with a flipping blade.”

“How intriguing.” Ayano said. “Any idea where it could have come from?”

“That’s the thing! We don’t know where it came from!”

“Ooh! Ooh!” Amai chimed, waving her hand as if asking a teacher a question in class. “Miko’s the Ultimate Bladesmith, right? He coulda made it!”

“What? No!” Miko argued. “I don’t even _know_ how to make something of that design!”

“Well, where else would it have come from?” Kokoro asked.

“From Monokuma.” Rantaro said bluntly.

Kokoro froze. “_What!?_”

Rantaro frowned. He knew he couldn’t keep where the knife _really_ came from a secret forever, but he had to keep it for now.

For now, he just had to settle with only telling part of it.

“The knife came from Monokuma. That’s where.”

“What?” Tsumugi snapped questioningly. “From _Monokuma?_ Where the fuck did you get THAT idea!?”

“Isn’t it obvious? The colour scheme. Red blade, black and white handle; Monokuma is red, black and white. But then again, someone like you wouldn’t be able to see something as blatantly obvious as that.”

Tsumugi growled.

“Can you two knock it off!?” Kokoro pleaded. “You can argue all you want when this is done!”

Tsumugi folded her arms and pouted.

“Anyway,” Rantaro continued. “Going by the colour scheme and the fact that we haven’t seen a knife like that until now, the most reasonable conclusion is that it came from Monokuma.”

“Can confirm!” The bear chimed. “That pocket knife was a gift given by me to one of my dear students!”

“Wait, really!?” Kokoro asked. “Who did you give it to?”

Rantaro froze. _FUCK._

“Upupu! That’s a spoiler~!”

Rantaro breathed a slight sigh of relief. _Thank god…_

Kokoro frowned. “Of course...He’s keeping THAT a secret too...”

“Why’d you bother asking then, Hikari?” Jasper questioned.

“It was possible he’d tell me!”

He smirked. “Ever the optimist, I see.”

“That aside,” Rantaro said. “We can at least conclude that someone got the knife from Monokuma. And that it was what dealt the slash on Yuuma’s neck, whether it was the killing blow or not.”

“I don’t think we need to keep saying ‘someone’ anymore.” Ayano said. “It’s quite obvious that the killer was the one who received Monokuma’s…‘Gift’.”

Amai nodded. “It’d explain why Monokuma’s not sayin’ anything.”

Rantaro grimaced. _Not quite…But I’ll play along for now._

“Okay,” Kokoro started. “So the killer snuck up on Yuuma and attacked him with the knife. Is that what we’re saying here?”

“Until we find out a cause for his strangulation wounds,” Miko answered. “Then yes.”

“Then how does the strangulation fit into it?” Haruto asked.

“Weren’t you listening?” Ayano said with a raised eyebrow. “He just said ‘until we find out a cause’.”

“Guys, I said this earlier.” Rantaro said, attempting to cool things off before they got too heated. “Focusing on how Yuuma got strangled and how that fits in here is a dead end. We know the killer used that knife on him,”

_Even though it wasn’t theirs,_

“So we have that at least.”

“But is there anything else we can talk about?” Ahmya asked. “The crime scene looked pretty bare aside from the Monopad-Mini that was destroyed.”

“And that’s an enigma all on it’s own.” Ayano mused.

“Oh come ON, you peasants!” Rikona snapped. “All of you are missing something important!”

Amai perked up. “Eh?”

“There’s a massive piece of evidence you all overlooked! A massive piece of evidence which is a vital hint towards the identity of the killer!”

“Really!?” Haruto exclaimed. “What is i-?”

Rikona angrily pointed at him. “QUIET! That evidence makes you a suspect, so you shouldn’t talk!”

Haruto froze. “Wait, _what!?_ How am I a suspect!?”

“Yeah, I agree.” Rantaro said. “We’ve had literally no evidence pointing to him so far, so how is Haruto already a suspect?”

“Hmmm...” Rikona hummed. “Well not _only_ him, per-se.”

Rantaro was confused. “...What?”

“Oh, I see what Rikona’s saying.” Ayano said.

“Then spit it out already!” Tsumugi hissed. “This is taking too long!”

“It’s already clear if you think about it. Yuuma’s body was found in the male changing room for the bathhouse on the second floor. Both of the changing rooms are locked via a scanner, where the person who wants to get inside has to be the correct gender in order to get in.”

Ayano folded her arms and narrowed her eyes.

“_Therefore, Yuuma Todoroki’s killer has to be a male._”

Rantaro stopped. “What!?”

“Exactly!” Rikona snapped. “That means you’re a suspect too, peasant!”

“If Rikona is correct, this narrows down the suspect list by quite a large margin.” Ayano continued, tapping her forefinger on her chin. “The only suspects left are Rantaro, Haruto, Miko and Jasper.”

“Oooohhh, you’re right!” Amai agreed. “That does narrow down the suspects!”

“Precisely. So one of those four is definitely the killer.”

_No, that isn’t the case. _Rantaro thought. _I understand what Ayano and Rikona are saying, but this isn’t as easy as they think. And there’s something that proves it._

He shook his head.

“No. That’s wrong.”

“What!?” Rikona jumped back a little. “You’re one of the suspects! You have no right to say anything like that!”

“Rantaro,” Ayano started, narrowing her eyes a little in a mix of intrigue and frustration. “Are you saying that you, as one of the suspects listed prior, challenge my claim?”

He flinched back ever so slightly.

_Fuck, since when was Ayano this intimidating!?_

He managed to stand his ground. “Yes. That’s exactly what I’m doing.”

She folded her arms. “Then tell me. How are the four of you _not_ suspects, even though you are the only people who could have gotten into the changing room?”

Rantaro shook his head. “That’s not the case. You didn’t notice Saiko’s Monopad-Mini, did you?”

Ayano flinched ever so slightly. “...What?”

“Saiko’s Monopad-Mini had been left on the scanner to the changing room. The killer must have left it behind by mistake.”

“T-that tablet was his!?” Miko exclaimed, jumping back a little.

Rantaro nodded. “Exactly. The killer used that to get into the changing room. So both of your idea was nothing more than a naive oversight.”

“N-naive...?” Ayano stammered.

Rikona growled. “...Alright fine, the killer did use it to get in. But you peasants aren’t out of the hot seat just yet!”

“How come?” Tsumugi asked. “They’d have no reason to use Saiko’s Monopad-Mini at all.”

Rantaro hummed. “No, I see what Rikona’s saying here. It’s possible that the killer just left it there as a red herring.”

“What, to make us think they needed to use it?” Haruto asked.

“Yeah, that’s right. Or they did use it and this is somehow a red herring inside of a red herring.”

“So a redherringception?” Amai asked.

“...Yes. A red...Herring...Ception. Either way, anyone can be the killer.”

Ayano frowned in frustration and sighed.

“...Alright, fine. Rikona and I were wrong. But now we have no idea who the killer could be. Happy now?”

Rantaro frowned. Ayano did have a point.

Even though it did kind of feel like she was guilt-tripping him for proving her wrong, they still had no prime suspects.

...Aside from…

As if on cue, Jasper started to speak up.

“As a matter of fact-”

Rikona immediately shouted over him.

“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!”

Confusion crossed over Jasper’s face. “...I’m...Sorry?”

“I’m sorry Ayano, but you’re wrong.” She puffed out her chest with pride. “We DO have a suspect!”

Ayano tilted her head. “We do?”

“Really? Who are you thinking?” Rantaro asked, curious to see what the chess player would say.

“Isn’t it obvious?” She remarked, before pointing an accusatory finger towards Miko. “_The killer is none other than the person who discovered the body!_”

Miko jumped back in shock. “W-what!?”

_Yeah, what!?_

“Um, excuse me-?” Jasper started, only to be talked over again.

“Oh come on! That one was a suspect from the beginning!” Rikona continued. “He knew where Yuuma’s body was!”

“I-I didn’t!” Miko stammered. “I found it by mistake! I had no idea the body was there!”

“Oh? You just so happened to stumble across the exact room that Yuuma’s body was in?” She scoffed. “Especially going by the events of the last investigation, a likely story!”

“Please, stop it!” He protested desperately. “I don’t want to hurt anyone! I’m not the killer, I swear!”

“Oh, stop already! You’re obviously the killer!”

Rantaro grimaced.

_Rikona’s accusing Miko as the killer...I see her logic, but is that really right?_

_No. It isn’t. I just need the opportunity to refute her…_

“You pretended to innocently walk in on your own crime scene to throw suspicion off, didn’t you?” Rikona continued. “I mean, _why would you go to the bathhouse this morning in the first place!?_”

That was Rantaro’s opening.

“I don’t think so!”

Rikona froze. “What!? Cease your babbling at once! That peasant is obviously Yuuma’s killer!”

Rantaro shook his head. “I doubt that. In fact, he _did_ have a valid reason for going to the bathhouse.”

“Oh? And what is this reason?”

“Saiko’s Monopad-Mini. That’s why.”

Rikona stopped. “What!? How is THAT a reason!?”

“Um...Well...” Miko started nervously. “I noticed that tablet lying on top of the scanner on the way to my lab.”

“What, Saiko’s?” Haruto asked.

He nodded. “It appears that way. I didn’t realise who the tablet belonged to at the time, and assumed that it had been left there by mistake.”

“Ohh,” Ahmya started. “So did you go inside to see if they forgot anything else?”

“Yes, exactly. But unfortunately...”

His breath hitched. Not that they needed him to finish the sentence, anyway.

“So?” Rantaro asked, turning to Rikona. “That enough of a reason for you?”

Rikona growled in frustration and folded her arms. “Alright, fine. He did have a reason. But he isn’t exactly out of the hot seat yet!”

“What!? How!?” Haruto exclaimed. “If he already knew it was Saiko’s, he had no reason to go inside!”

“Who’s to say that this isn’t just a bluff to make us feel sorry for him? He could have come up with this story to make us think he was just an innocent bystander!”

Amai hummed quietly. “...Hmmm...I guess...”

“No, stop it!” Miko protested. “I’m not lying!”

“Yeah, he’s not.” Rantaro agreed. “There’s another reason why he isn’t the killer.”

“And what would that be, peasant!?” Rikona hissed.

“Simple. He has an alibi for last night.”

Rikona froze. “What!?”

“Wait, last night?” Amai asked.

“Going by what we have, Yuuma died last night. Jasper saw him leaving his room after all. And we have proof.” He turned to Rikona. “According to _your_ alibi, at least.”

“Well...” Rikona started. “...I guess it would seem that way...”

“Wait, how does Rikona’s alibi prove that?” Ahmya asked. “And also, she has an alibi?”

“She does.” Rantaro explained. “She went to the bathhouse last night before going to sleep because the shower in her room wasn’t fancy enough for her or something.”

She shrugged. “...Okay, seems legit. But doesn’t that make her a suspect?”

“No. Because she likely _heard_ the murder happen.”

“Mmm...Alright, I did.” Rikona started. “Just as I was about to leave, I heard what sounded like arguing from the next room. Then it was followed by banging and crashing, so I panicked and ran...”

“That would explain why there was a towel lying in the middle of the floor of the girls changing room,” Kokoro noted. “You probably dropped it in a panic before you left.”

“Exactly.” Rantaro agreed. “But Rikona isn’t the only person who has an alibi. Miko has one too. Well...” He turned to Ayano. “If Ayano can prove it, at least.”

Miko must have realised what Rantaro was about to say, as he started to get flustered and turned his gaze to the ground. “U-uh…!”

Ayano tilted her head, intrigued. “Eh...?”

“Ayano,” Rantaro started to ask. “You spent some time with Miko last night, didn’t you?”

“Hmmm...” Ayano hummed, before remembering. “...Oh. I suppose I did.”

“Really?” Haruto asked.

Tsumugi giggled childishly to herself. “Oooohhh, interesting~!”

Ayano shot her a glare, before continuing. “He’s been pretty insistent on spending time with me for some reason.”

_I think I know exactly what that reason is._ Rantaro thought.

“He didn’t want me staying up too long or something...” She went on. “So he took me to my room to make sure I didn’t stay up too late. Or...Something like that.”

“Alright, they spent some time together.” Ahmya said. “But he still could’ve killed Yuuma when he left.”

“Well...About that...” Rantaro started. “You see, the thing is...”

It didn’t take long for Ayano to understand what Rantaro was saying.

She shot Miko a look.

“...You didn’t watch me sleep, did you.”

“What!? NO!” Miko stammered. “N- WHY would I do THAT!?”

Ayano raised an eyebrow. “Multiple reasons.”

Tsumugi burst out laughing.

“S-stop it!” Miko stammered. “It was an accident! I was just really tired after working in my lab a lot of the day and...” He bashfully lowered his gaze to the floor. “...IaccidentallyfellasleepinthechairinyouroomI’msorry...”

Ayano raised her eyebrows. “…...Oh.”

Miko forced his eyes shut, obviously not wanting to talk more about the matter.

“Either way,” Rantaro explained. “Ayano probably would’ve noticed Miko leaving her room last night.” He addressed her. “Did he?”

“I wasn’t aware he was there,” Ayano started. “But I didn’t hear the door open, so no.”

“And there you have it.” He turned to Rikona. “Miko’s in the clear.”

Rikona growled. “Alright, fine. But we don’t have anyone else, do we?”

“Well actually-” Jasper started.

“Doesn’t your alibi kinda make you a suspect, though?” Haruto asked.

“Yes, but-”

“We’ve been over this, peasant!” Rikona snapped. “I heard the murder happen! So I can’t be the killer!”

“Uh, hello-?”

“Okay, I guess you’re right.” Haruto said with a sigh. “We don’t have anyone else.”

“People-?”

“Exactly!” Rikona hissed. “So how are we supposed t-”

“_**SHUT!!! UP!!!**_”

Everyone froze and turned to Jasper’s podium.

The boy in question quickly adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.

“Thank you. If any of you were listening, I was trying to say something.”

Rantaro stopped.

_Is he trying to derail the trial again!?_

The others seemed to share the same sentiment.

“And why would we listen to you?” Ahmya questioned, her eye narrowing.

“Oh? Don’t you want my help?”

“Uh, after last time, not really.” Amai said.

“Ugh, seriously? Can’t we just let bygones be bygones already?” He pointed to Rantaro. “Ran-Ran, tell them. I said it to you before the trial, remember?”

Rantaro instinctively flinched back, before sighing.

“Well sure, you said you’d try to help this time. But did you seriously think I’d believe you?”

Jasper smirked.

“_Not even if I say I might know who the killer is?_”

Rantaro froze.

“W-what!?”

“Keyword here being ‘might’.” Jasper continued with a shrug. “I didn’t and still partially don’t know for sure, but during the discussion, things have become clearer and clearer.” He smiled. “That’s why I’m bringing it up now.”

“You mean we _do_ have a suspect?” Ayano asked.

“Of course we do. Sure, Miko and Rikona made sense at the time, but this one easily makes the most sense out of the three of them.”

Rantaro stopped.

_...I know exactly who he’s talking about._

_Sure, this is an early stage for accusations, but they have been suspicious to me…_

_It looks like Jasper’s actually helping after all._

_...I don’t know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing._

_Either way...Is **that person** really the culprit?_

“Of course they are.”

Rantaro froze, realising Jasper apparently used his mind-reading trick again.

He chuckled to himself. “Don’t any of you idiots see it? It’s obvious if you just think about it.”

“Then stop dancing around the question and just say it already!” Haruto snapped. “Who is it!?”

Jasper smiled menacingly and pointed.

“_Sachiko’s the killer._”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuuuuuuu  
It looks like Jasper is actually gonna be helpful after all. Go figure.  
But is he right? IS Sachiko the killer?  
I guess we're just gonna have to wait and see~  
Thank you for reading until the end! <3  
Please leave any theories in the comments! I love seeing them!


	17. Strangle Knot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Jasper's sudden accusation, Sachiko is suddenly the centre of everyone's suspicion. But something's wrong. Not with the accusation, but with the murder itself...  
Is the crime scene really as it seems?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Strap yourself in guys this one's a doozy

Sachiko, having not said anything since the trial began, tensed.

“...What?”

“Didn’t you hear me?” Jasper said with a smile. “You’re the killer.”

“Didn’t you say it yourself?” Rantaro’s eyes narrowed on her. “We could suspect you all you want and you wouldn’t care.”

Sachiko growled under her breath.

Rantaro grimaced. _Looks like Jasper could be right after all…_

“Wait, hold up!” Amai exclaimed. “How the heck is SHE the killer!?”

“Remember how I said earlier that Jasper saw Yuuma leaving his room last night?”

“Can confirm.” Jasper nodded. “Those clicking heels of his woke me up.” He flashed a look to Monokuma. “The rooms need better soundproofing.”

“I’m your headmaster! You can’t tell me what to do!” Monokuma snapped. “...Though you do have a good point, the soundproofing in the dorm rooms could do with improving...”

Jasper’s eyes narrowed. “Then do it already.”

“Anyway,” Rantaro continued.“Yuuma wasn’t the only person Jasper saw.”

“Again, can confirm. There were some time differences, but Yuuma, Rikona and Sachiko all left their dorm rooms last night. In that order.”

“And since one of them is dead and the other heard the murder happen,” Rantaro continued. “Sachiko’s the only one left without a solid alibi.”

“I fucking told you earlier.” Sachiko hissed. “I was just getting a drink of water from the kitchen. That’s it.”

“And can anyone prove that?” Jasper questioned, the glow to his eyes returning.

Sachiko frowned, her brow furrowing in frustration.

He smirked. “Got you.”

“YOU’RE the one who killed him…!?” Rikona growled.

“Whoa, hold on!” Kokoro protested. “We barely have any evidence on her!”

“Though you have to admit, she is pretty suspicious right now.” Rantaro said. “Don’t you think?”

“As a matter of fact,” Jasper added. “Miss Akahana hasn’t said a word since the trial started. Peculiar, right?”

“And it makes sense going by the frame of events...” Ayano said, tilting her head and tapping her forefinger on her chin thoughtfully. “She left her room not long after Rikona did, right?”

Jasper nodded.

“Then going by the fact that Rikona heard the murder after she had gotten changed,” Ayano continued. “Sachiko definitely would have been able to kill Yuuma.”

“So her lack of an alibi matches up, and the timeframe matches up.” Jasper listed, flashing a smirk at Kokoro. “That’s _two_ pieces of evidence. That convince you now, Hikari?”

Kokoro frowned. “I’m still not sure...”

“Are you, now? Well, Sachiko isn’t exactly saying anything in her defence.”

Jasper was right. Despite clearly being angry, Sachiko had her eyes away from everyone and her mouth pressed firmly shut into a frown.

Though her expressions was a mix of anger and something else. Almost like she was having trouble with the fact that she was now the most suspicious person in the room.

“See?” Jasper continued. “Still nothing from the suspect. She’s not even bothering to defend herself.”

“Let’s just vote now!” Rikona hissed. “She’s _OBVIOUSLY_ Yuuma’s killer, so let’s bring this peasant to justice!”

“Eh?” Monokuma asked, leaning forward in his throne. “Did I just hear someone say ‘vote’?”

“You did! We’ve found the killer, so let’s just vote already!”

“Really?” Monokuma cocked his head curiously. “This is pretty early to be starting the vote.”

“Does it look like I care, peasant!? Now get on with it!”

“Grrr! Don’t refer to your headmaster as a peasant! I have a right mind to punish you!”

“Monokuma, calm down. And Rikona, don’t push him.” Ayano said calmly.

Rikona pouted and folded her arms, muttering angrily under her breath.

“Anyway,” Ayano continued, turning back to the bear. “I know it seems early, but we have no other suspects. Sachiko has to be the killer.”

Monokuma chuckled. “Are you sure about that?”

“Of course we’re sure!” Rikona snapped.

“Eh, alright.” Monokuma said with a shrug. “If you say so.”

Jasper smirked and quietly laughed to himself.

Rantaro noticed this, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

_Is he planning something?_ He thought.

_...Ignore that. He actually helped find the killer. Let’s just get this vote done already._

“Alright,” Monokuma continued. “The voting grids should be appearing in front of you any minute now! So the vote will begin in-”

“Yeah, no.”

Monokuma abruptly stopped talking. “Whuh?”

Haruto pulled his fedora back up, spinning the brim a little with his hand.

“I’m gonna stop you right there.” He said. “Sachiko isn’t the killer.”

Rantaro stopped. “...What?”

“Yeah, WHAT!?” Rikona seconded.

Jasper was intrigued. “...Oh?”

Even Sachiko tensed a little. “...What did you say?”

“You heard me! She’s not the killer!” Haruto repeated confidently.

“You have...Literally no reason to defend me.” Sachiko said, confused.

“I don’t care about that! All I know is that they’ve got it wrong!”

Sachiko was about to say something, but was evidently stunned into silence.

“You can’t deny that she has a point, Haruto.” Ayano said, narrowing her eyes coldly. “Sachiko is the most suspicious person in the room right now. And yet you still confidently defend her?”

“Well, is there any other evidence _besides_ the fact that she left her room last night?”

“Well there-” She started, but stopped. “...Okay there isn’t, but-”

“Exactly! The only reason you’re all suspecting her is because of that one thing, and because you have nobody else!”

“But she isn’t saying anything in her defence!” Rikona snapped.

“Because you’re not LETTING HER say anything in her defence! Hell, she told you alibi after you started accusing her!”

“What, that she just left her room to get a drink from the kitchen?” Amai asked.

“Yeah, exactly!”

“But nobody saw her go down to the kitchen.” Ayano pointed out. “We can’t exactly prove her alibi, so we can’t prove that that’s where she really went.”

“But that doesn’t mean we can just start suspecting her because she left her room!”

Ayano raised an eyebrow. “...Yes it does.”

“But that doesn’t automatically make her the killer, does it?”

Ayano pressed her lips into a firm line. “True...But she is the most suspicious person here.”

“Again, that doesn’t automatically mean she’s the killer! We could have missed something for all we know!”

Ayano frowned, irritated. “This isn’t a game, Haruto. If you wish to slow our progress, then now is very much not the time.”

“I’m not trying to slow your progress! You guys have got it wrong, she’s not the killer!”

Rantaro shot Haruto a look. “What the hell are you doing…!?”

“I’m trying to help you!”

“You’re REALLY not helping…!”

“Well Sachiko’s not the killer!”

_...He’s seriously not doing this because he likes her or something, is he._

“Think about it,” Haruto continued. “This is way too early to be getting the killer for sure, isn’t it? And besides, it’s just because of like one piece of evidence! That’s way too little to prove someone as the killer!”

Rantaro hesitated. “...That’s true, but...Going by Jasper’s testimony, Sachiko is the only suspect we have left.”

“Sure, but someone else could’ve left without Jasper noticing!”

“But she is still very suspicious right now.”

“That doesn’t mean she’s the killer for sure, though!”

“Look Haruto, Yuuma’s dead and Rikona heard the murder happen. Other than Rikona running past her when she was going downstairs, there’s nothing that can-”

Rantaro froze when he realised what he just said.

“...Wait.”

“Eeh? What is it?” Ayano asked.

His eyes widened in shock as he finally put it together.

“...Haruto’s right. Sachiko can’t be the killer.”

Ayano stiffened. “...What?”

“Yeah, what!? She’s the most suspicious person in the room!” Rikona agreed.

Jasper tilted his head with a curious smile. “Go on…?”

“I just remembered something she said when Sachiko told me her alibi.” Rantaro explained. “When she was on her way downstairs, Rikona ran past her.”

“Yeah, the girl was in tears for whatever reason.” Sachiko agreed.

“Rikona, can you confirm this?”

“Mmmm...” Rikona pressed her lips into an uneasy line. “I think I might have...I was really scared so I wasn’t paying attention...”

“Wait, why would she be scared?” Miko asked.

“Remember what her alibi was?” Rantaro answered. “She probably heard the murder happen.”

“Of course!” Kokoro realised. “I’d be terrified if that happened!”

“So like she said, she panicked and ran to her room. And just so happened to run past Sachiko when she was on her way downstairs.”

“And what does that prove?” Ayano questioned.

“It proves that Sachiko left her room _after the murder happened._”

Ayano stopped. “...Ah.”

“See? I told you!” Haruto said confidently. “Sachiko isn’t the killer!”

“And you’ve got it.” Jasper said with a smirk. “Well done, you two.”

Rantaro stopped. “Wait, what?”

“I did not expect that to work as well as it did.” He smiled. “But of course with my beloved Ran-Ran at the helm, why wouldn’t it?”

“What are you talking about? Also, ‘beloved’!?”

Jasper deadpanned him. “Isn’t it obvious? This was a bluff from the start.”

Haruto froze. “Wait, WHAT!?”

“You heard me. I never thought Sachiko was the killer.”

“YOU WHAT!?!?” Rikona snapped. “You were misdirecting us AGAIN!?”

“Oh, no. I wasn’t misdirecting you.” Jasper explained calmly. “I was _helping_ you.”

“Helping!? How was THAT helping!?” Rantaro questioned.

“I knew you would hone in on Sachiko eventually. As you all said, she was initially the most suspect out of the people I listed. But she seemed _way_ too obvious. I mean, when is the person you first suspect **ever** the killer?” He chuckled.

“But then why did you bring her up?” Haruto asked, his eyes narrowing in frustration. “You were the first person who called her out as a suspect.”

“The only reason I brought her up was so that you could rule her out. And maybe to bait the real killer into confessing before we made the wrong vote. That didn’t happen though, unfortunately.” He shrugged. “But Ran-Ran’s deduction and your consistent prodding was able to rule her out as a suspect.” He smiled and clapped, as if applauding the two. “Well done.”

Haruto grimaced. “That’s a really fucked-up version of helping...”

“But he did at least help rather than tricking us again...” Rantaro said reluctantly. “...Thanks for that, I guess.”

Jasper smiled. “No problem.”

“So what now?” Tsumugi asked. “Because of Jasper quote-unquote ‘helping’, we now have no suspects left.”

“Well, no suspects from the people he listed.” Miko pointed out. “Anyone could have left afterwards without him noticing.”

“So? We don’t have any evidence pointing to anyone else.” Tsumugi said with a condescending shrug. “See? The purple fucker screwed us over.”

“Uh, I stopped you all from voting for the wrong person?” Jasper said with a raised eyebrow. “If I hadn’t, all of you would have died. You’re welcome.”

“He has a point.” Rantaro said. “If Jasper hadn’t brought up Sachiko for me to rule her out, we would’ve chosen the wrong person.”

“Like I said,” Haruto added with a grimace. “Really fucked-up version of helping.”

“But Tsumugi’s right,” Amai pointed out. “If Sachiko’s not the killer, then who is?”

“Well,” Haruto turned to Sachiko. “Did you see anyone leave their rooms?”

Sachiko shook her head. “No. I left after the murder happened. Your friend just said it.”

He frowned. “Good point...”

“And going by Rikona’s alibi,” Ayano mused. “Either the killer left inbetween her leaving and Sachiko leaving without Jasper noticing, or they left their room before Yuuma left his room at all.”

Jasper hummed thoughtfully. “Both options sound pretty plausible.”

“But it doesn’t point to anyone!” Tsumugi snapped. “Don’t you see!? We’re back at square one!”

“Well maybe arguing about who the killer is so early on was a bad idea to start with!” Kokoro argued.

“Well, in our defence,” Miko started. “There wasn’t exactly much else to talk about. I mean, with the broken tablet and the unknown cause of death and all.”

“Yeah, we still know jackshit about that, don’t we?” Sachiko seconded.

“Yes, not to mention we still have no clue what Yuuma could have been strangled by. All we know is that the knife came from Monokuma.”

“But we do need to find something else to talk about...” Rantaro said thoughtfully. “Hmm...”

“What about the crime scene?” Kokoro proposed.

Rantaro stopped. “What?”

“The crime scene. Why don’t we talk about that?”

“Uh, what _about_ the crime scene?” Tsumugi said, deadpan. “Yuuma was killed in the boys changing room. No doy.”

“I dunno, something’s bothering me about it...” Kokoro put her hand to her chin thoughtfully. “Something isn’t right here.”

“You’re confusing me, Kokoro. What are you talking about?” Rantaro asked. “The crime scene seemed fine to me.”

“Remember what Jasper said before we left to find Miko?” She explained. “I think I’ve finally figured out what he meant.”

Jasper smiled. “Oh, NOW you see it.”

“Wait, see what?” Haruto asked.

“Yeah, I agree. What are you saying?” Rantaro agreed.

“Well, you remember what Jasper pointed out, right?” Kokoro said. “It didn’t make much sense at the time, but now...”

Rantaro suddenly realised what Kokoro was talking about.

“_Actually,” Jasper said, walking over to them. “Is it just me who’s noticed this?”_

“_Noticed what?” Rantaro asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously._

_Jasper gestured to his surroundings. “This room looks barely touched. Am I the only one who finds that strange?”_

_Rantaro quickly scanned the changing room, finding that Jasper was right. All the towels were in clean piles, the mirror didn’t have any smudges or fingerprints, and it looked like the carpet was barely stepped on._

“You mean how clean the room was, right?”

“Yeah, that.” Kokoro said. “I finally figured out what Jasper was trying to say!”

Jasper chuckled to himself. “At last, I thought I was the only one who noticed that!”

“Noticed what!?” Haruto asked.

It finally clicked.

“...It doesn’t make sense.”

“What?” Haruto turned to Rantaro. “What doesn’t make sense?”

“How clean the changing room was.” Rantaro said. “It doesn’t make sense!”

“Yeah, exactly!” Kokoro agreed.

“How doesn’t it make sense?” Rikona asked. “It just means that the killer did a really good job of cleaning up, that’s all.”

“But this is beyond the level of post-murder cleanup...” Rantaro said. “It was like nobody had even been in there at all!”

He finally realised what this meant.

“I finally see what Jasper was trying to say! _The room was so clean because the murder never happened there!_”

A collective gasp echoed through the courtroom.

“What!? That doesn’t make any sense!” Rikona snapped. “I definitely heard the murder happen in there!”

“No, you have to trust us on this!” Kokoro said. “The murder didn’t happen in the boys changing room!”

“If Yuuma and the killer did have a fight, the room would’ve been more roughed-up, wouldn’t it?” Ahmya pointed out.

“Yeah, exactly! So the murder can’t have happened there!”

“So what DID Rikona hear?” Miko asked.

“That’s a mystery for another time.” Jasper dismissed. “The mystery for now is where Yuuma’s murder really happened.”

“But how can we even prove that this is true?” Ayano questioned. “This is all just a theory.”

“No, it’s not. If the crime scene really was rearranged, that would explain another glaring mystery of this case.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“You’re talking about the two causes of death, aren’t you?” Rantaro asked.

Jasper nodded with a smile. “That’s correct.”

“Wait, hold on. How the fuck does the changing room not being the real crime scene explain why there are two causes of death?” Sachiko asked.

“Well, the fact that there are two causes of death doesn’t make sense on it’s own, does it?” Jasper explained. “After all, why would you slice someone’s throat if you had just strangled them? However, if you look at it in the context that Yuuma’s body was moved, it starts to make more sense.”

“...Can someone translate?” A confused Amai asked.

“Hold on, I think I see what Jasper is saying.” Rantaro said. “The fact that the body was moved is the reason Yuuma’s throat was slit at all.”

“Wait, WHAAAAAAT!?”

“Yeah, I’m with Amai here. What does that have to do with it!?” Haruto asked.

“Because Yuuma _didn’t_ die from a slit throat.” Rantaro explained. “If the body was moved, I can confidently say for sure that Yuuma died from strangulation.”

“What!? How can you say that for sure!?” Rikona questioned.

“Don’t you see?” Jasper answered. “The slit throat was to misdirect us.”

“Misdirect?” Ayano asked.

“If Jasper’s saying what I think he’s saying,” Rantaro explained. “The killer strangled Yuuma to death, moved his body to the boys changing room using Saiko’s Monopad-Mini and cut his throat open with the knife to make us all think he died there.”

“Uugh…! That’s awful!” Rikona said nervously.

“It was awful, but it worked. If Jasper hadn’t pointed out how clean the changing room was, we never would have suspected that the murder happened somewhere else.”

“So, Yuuma was definitely strangled to death, right?” Haruto said. “And he wasn’t killed in the boys changing room. That’s progress, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but we still have no idea what he could have been strangled by.” Sachiko pointed out. “There’s no rope or anything.”

“Well...What if there’s something the killer _used_ as a rope?” Kokoro proposed.

“Is there anything like that they could find?” Ayano asked.

“Hmm...What about a _towel?_”

“A...Towel?” Amai asked.

“I’m pretty sure if you roll a tower really thin, it could act as a makeshift rope.” Kokoro explained. “And there are plenty of those in both changing rooms. The killer could’ve just folded it back up with the others.”

“Hmmm...” Jasper mused. “That does make some sense, Hikari. It would explain why we were unable to find the murder weapon. It was hiding in plain sight.”

“But you just said that the murder never happened there, idiot!” Tsumugi snapped.

“Just because the murder never happened there doesn’t mean they couldn’t take the weapon from there.” Rantaro pointed out. “They were gonna move Yuuma’s body there, anyway. Any other rope lying around would’ve been suspicious.”

“Okay, so Yuuma was strangled to death with a towel...” Miko said. “And his body was moved and made to look like he was murdered in the boys changing room. Is that right?”

“Yeah, that’s what we have so far. I think our next step is to figure out where Yuuma really died.”

“Do we need to, though?” Kokoro asked.

Rantaro stopped. “What?”

“The real crime scene seems pretty obvious to me.”

Rantaro froze. “Wait, _what!?_”

“Well, this is just a theory, but it makes sense!...Kinda...”

“So what is this theory?” Ayano asked.

“Well, think about it. Yuuma likely fought with the killer, right?” Kokoro explained. “So I guess the only place the murder could have happened is somewhere nearby the changing room, and actually had visible damage.”

“Hmm...I guess that does make sense. But does such a place exist?”

“It does.” Kokoro turned to Rantaro. “Doesn’t it?”

“...Wait, does it?” Rantaro asked.

“Of COURSE it does! I told you during the investigation!”

_Wait, she did!? When did she-_

_...Hold on._

_Is she referring to **that**?_

_It doesn’t make sense, but...Since Kokoro was the one who ended up nailing down Saiko as Kaoru’s killer because of the rope fibres, I should believe her._

_Here goes nothing…_

“You mean the _girls changing room_, right?”

Kokoro nodded. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“Wait wait wait, stop stop stop.” Ahmya stopped them. “The _girls_ changing room?”

“Yeah. If I’m right, that’s where Yuuma really died.”

“But that doesn’t make sense!” Rikona snapped. “I was in the girls changing room and I didn’t notice anything!”

“We can address that later. Hell, it’s possible that Yuuma died before you went in there.”

“But Rikona has a point.” Ayano said. “This is quite out of nowhere.”

“True, but I think we should go with Kokoro on this one.” Rantaro said. “She was the one who was able to catch Saiko out last time, remember?”

“I agree.” Jasper said. “I think we should hear Hikari out.”

“Alright, fine.” Sachiko said. “So you said the room had to be roughed-up a little, right? How was the room roughed-up?”

“As a matter of fact,” Kokoro explained. “I thought it would be a good idea to quickly investigate the girls changing room to see if the killer hid anything there. And one of the mirrors was broken.”

“A broken mirror?” Miko asked. “Why?”

“Unless Monokuma was an asshole and broke the mirror on purpose,” Ahmya said. “It doesn’t really make sense.”

“Why would I do that?” Monokuma piped up. “I have to make everything perfect for my students, after all!”

“Okay, so Monokuma _didn’t_ break the mirror.” Haruto said. “Who did?”

“Well we don’t know who,” Rantaro explained. “But I think I know _what_. The knife.”

“The knife?”

“Ooh, I think I know what he means!” Amai piped up. “While they were fighting, the knife was stabbed into the mirror by mistake!”

“Exactly, causing the mirror to break.” Rantaro agreed. “And the killer used this moment as an opportunity to take a nearby towel and kill Yuuma with it.”

“That would also explain the towel I found on the floor...” Kokoro mused.

“Well sure, that’s all well and good, but what was Yuuma doing in there?” Tsumugi pointed out.

“Perhaps Yuuma followed the killer in?” Ayano suggested. “When the killer opened the door, Yuuma snuck in behind them.”

“I don’t think so.” Sachiko dismissed. “His heels are way too loud, the killer would have heard him coming a mile away.”

“And besides, that doesn’t really explain why Yuuma was going in there.” Haruto agreed.

“So I guess the only way the murder would have happened is if Yuuma went in there first,” Rantaro suggested. “Then the killer came in after him and ambushed him.”

“Okay, yeah, sure. Massive problem with that.” Tsumugi said.

“What-”

“_YUUMA’S A __**GUY**__, DUMBASS!!! _HE WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET INSIDE!!!”

“...Oh. That’s a good point.”

Kokoro suddenly tensed.

Rantaro turned to her. “Kokoro?”

Kokoro didn’t say anything, but she had a wide-eyed, almost shocked expression.

“Kokoro, that’s your ‘I’ve just realised something really important’ face.”

“N-no way...” She muttered.

“No way what!?” Haruto questioned.

Jasper also stopped. “...Oh.”

“Oh great, not you too!”

“No, I...Think I just realised what Hikari just realised. And it’s certainly...” His brow furrowed a little. “...Interesting.”

“Guys, just say it already! You’re confusing everyone!”

“Kokoro,” Rantaro turned to her. “What’s wrong!? Just say it!”

“U-uh, nobody’s gonna believe me...” Kokoro started. “But there IS a way for that scenario to have happened.”

“What, so there’s a way Yuuma would have been murdered in the girls changing room?”

“I know it sounds crazy, but it’s the only thing that makes sense!” She pleaded. “Just trust me on this! There is a way Yuuma would have been able to get in!”

“But how!? There’s no way he would have-!”

He froze.

It finally clicked.

_No, wait hold on. There’s no way that that’s the case…!_

_Sure it would explain how Yuuma got in, but it’s insane…!_

“K-Kokoro...” Rantaro started. “...You aren’t _seriously_ suggesting that…!?”

Kokoro nodded.

“The reason Yuuma was able to get in..._Is because Yuuma is actually a girl._”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See what I mean about me loving stinger lines?
> 
> Don't worry. Everything will make sense in a chapter's time.  
But I've had to leave you hanging on this revelation~
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading until the end! <3  
Oh, and please leave your reactions in the comments! (or just scream at me or something)


	18. Killer Instinct

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an insane revelation by Kokoro, the murder case is presented in a whole new light.  
And Rantaro is now certain he knows who the killer is.

“YUUMA’S A _WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?!?!?” _Amai exclaimed.

“Yeah, I’m with Amai here!” Haruto agreed. “WHAT!?”

“Think about it!” Kokoro said. “It’s the only way Yuuma would have been able to get into the girls changing room!”

“If that’s the case, then Yuuma would have had female identification,” Ayano mused, grimacing a little. “But still, this is…!”

“The only way the murder could have happened?” Jasper said. “Think about it. The murder definitely happened in the girls changing room, and the only way the murder could have happened there is if Yuuma, was in fact, female.”

Confusion crossed over Tsumugi’s face. “You’re seriously joking, right…!?”

“No, I don’t think she’s joking...” Rantaro shook his head. “The only way the murder could have taken place...Is if Yuuma was a girl.”

“Ooooohhh?” Monokuma butted in. “You guys didn’t know?”

“Didn’t...Know?” Miko echoed, before realising what he meant. “Wait, so it’s true!?”

“Of course it’s true! She was crossdressing this whole time!”

To prove it, he took out a slip of paper and presented it for all to see.

“_Even though she wears boys clothing, Yuuma Todoroki is actually 1000% female!”_

“See? Upupu! _Yuuma Todoroki is absolutely positively a __**GIRL**__!!!_”

Everyone was left in stunned silence.

_...Yuuma was a girl? This whole time!?_

_I know this explains how she would have gotten into the changing room, but...This is huge…!_

_...I have to try and not focus on this...But this will be useful for finding out who the killer is._

“Well, it...” Kokoro started. “Certainly explains a lot about the case...”

“Since Monokuma just confirmed it, it seems that Yuuma’s identification really was female.” Ayano added. “So that would explain how he- or, um...She...”

“Yeah, I think we should just use ‘she’ from now on.” Rantaro suggested. “If it was anything other than that, Monokuma would have said so.”

“Eeeeexactly!” Monokuma agreed. “I may be a bear, but I do respect my beloved students’ pronouns!”

“Alright then, it would explain how she would have been able to get into the girls changing room.” Ayano continued.

“It would also explain why she went to the bathhouse really late in the first place too, right?” Amai suggested. “She probably wanted to see what the bathhouse was like, but didn’t want anyone to find out she was a girl. So she went really late so that nobody would find out.”

Kokoro nodded. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

“But the killer evidently did find her,” Miko started. “And killed her before she got the chance to tell us...” He forced his eyes shut and shook his head. “That’s just awful…!”

“So then why bother moving her body to the guys room?” Tsumugi questioned.

“Well, the killer wanted to confuse us on where Yuuma died,” Rantaro answered. “But it sounds like they also wanted to do something else.”

“Something else? Seriously?”

“Yeah. I think the reason the killer moved Yuuma’s body to the boys changing room was because they wanted to protect Yuuma’s secret.”

“What the fuck would they get out of that!?”

“Hell if I know. And besides, it solves another mystery that we haven’t addressed yet.”

“It does?” Ayano asked.

“The Monopad-Mini next to her body. More specifically, the fact that the killer went to the trouble of destroying it with the knife.”

“Yeah, pretty sure Monokuma made those to last.” Jasper added. “Since Kaoru’s survived a high drop and Saiko’s survived everything that happened in his execution.”

“So the killer must have been there for a long time,” Miko mused. “It probably took them ages before they finally broke it.”

“Exactly.” Rantaro said. “But why would the killer bother doing that?”

“What if it was the one they used to get into the guys room?” Amai asked.

“No, the killer left Saiko’s Monopad-Mini on the scanner.” Kokoro answered. “So the only reasonable answer is that that Monopad-Mini was Yuuma’s.”

“And if that’s the case,” Rantaro continued. “The only viable reason that I can see the killer going to the trouble of destroying it was to protect Yuuma’s secret.”

“Again,” Tsumugi said. “What would the killer get out of doing that!?”

“Well, imagine this scenario. Yuuma’s just about to leave the changing room, but the killer walks in and discovers her secret. A fight breaks out which results in the mirror getting broken and Yuuma eventually getting strangled to death with the towel, but the killer still wants to preserve Yuuma’s dignity, and moves her body to the male changing room.”

“Ooohhh,” Amai realised. “‘Cuz if we found her body in the girls room, we all woulda found out right there!”

“Exactly. That’s why they moved Yuuma’s body in the first place.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question, idiot!” Tsumugi snapped. “It doesn’t make sense for the killer to do a bunch of extra work just to cover for the victim!”

“Actually, it does.”

Rantaro’s eyes narrowed with a determined glare.

“_If the killer is who I think it is, anyway._”

A gasp swept through the courtroom.

“You know who the killer is!?” Haruto exclaimed.

“I only thought of it a few minutes ago.” Rantaro explained. “And I know it seems crazy, but it makes the most sense right now with some of the things we know now thanks to Yuuma’s secret.”

“What makes you say that?” Miko asked.

“Well, back when we thought Yuuma was killed in the boys changing room, the suspect list was a lot larger. But now that we know she really died in the girls changing room, it narrows the list down a lot.”

“...I don’t get it.” A confused Amai said.

“Wait, I think I get what he’s saying.” Kokoro said. “You’re talking about the Monopad-Minis available in the foyer, right?”

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“What about them?” Ahmya asked. “I mean, we know the killer used Saiko’s to get into the guys room.”

“Well, think about it. Both of the Monopad-Minis available in the foyer are male identification. The killer used Saiko’s in order to move the body, after all. Sure, a girl could have used one of them to get into the male changing room, but since there are none belonging to any girls available yet, a guy can’t use anything to get into the girls changing room.”

“Ohhh...” Ayano realised. “So in order for the crime to have taken place, the killer has to have female identification.”

“Precisely.” Rantaro answered. “In short, _Yuuma’s killer has to be a girl._”

“Huh, I guess that does make sense.” Haruto mused.

“Hold on, isn’t it possible for the killer to have stolen one from us?” Sachiko pointed out.

“True,” Jasper stated. “But it would have been quite difficult for them to pull such an act off. The deed was done in the middle of the night, remember?”

“Good point...But how does any of that prove who the killer is?”

“Well, after I figured this out, all the pieces started to kinda fall into place.” Rantaro explained. “The killer had to have left their room last night. The killer had to have been female. And since they went to all of the trouble of covering up Yuuma’s secret, they were most likely a close friend of hers.” He closed his eyes. “And I don’t know about you, but there’s someone right here in this room who ticks literally _all_ of those boxes.”

His eyes suddenly snapped back open to glare at his suspect.

“Isn’t that right..._Rikona?_”

A sudden chill swept through the room.

Rikona stepped back in shock. “W-WHAT!?”

“Weren’t you listening?” Rantaro continued. “The killer left their room last night, is female, and is likely a close friend of Yuuma’s. And if I remember correctly, you went out of your way to befriend Yuuma before she died, Jasper saw you leaving your room last night, and unless your identification proves otherwise, I’m pretty damn sure you’re a girl. You’re the only person in here who ticks every single box.”

“B-but Yuuma was my friend! Why on earth would I kill her!?”

“I don’t know that yet. But right now, all the facts are lining up. Right now, the most likely suspect is you!”

There was a general murmur – neither of agreement or disagreement – amongst a number of the group.

“I guess she does fit all the criteria...” Kokoro noted.

“Still, this is quite out of nowhere.” Ayano mused. “And it wouldn’t make sense for her to kill a friend.”

“Well what about the motive?” Ahmya proposed. “Maybe she had a pretty heavy secret and caught Yuuma unawares after finding out hers.”

“Hmm...It’s possible...”

“STOP IT! STOP IT, ALL OF YOU!” Rikona snapped. “I’M NOT THE KILLER, YOU PEASANTS!”

“I mean we don’t know for sure,” Kokoro said. “But we can’t exactly deny that you’re pretty suspicious right now.”

“What are you, dense!? This whole fake crime scene theory makes no sense at all! I HEARD the murder happen, remember!?”

“Yeah, no.” Rantaro said bluntly. “Your whole ‘I heard the murder happen’ alibi is total bullshit.”

Rikona’s eyes widened in fury. “WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!?”

“Weren’t you listening? We spent at least ten minutes proving that the crime happened in the girls changing room. Monokuma confirming that Yuuma was a girl practically solidified it. Not to mention, there’s no way a fight would have even happened considering how clean the room was.” His eyes narrowed and he folded his arms. “So sorry, _but_ _your alibi’s a total lie._”

“Nn…! Either way, you can’t prove I’m the killer!”

“Why would you lie otherwise?” Jasper asked. “And don’t try and say that you never left your room. I saw you leave your room.”

“That doesn’t prove anything!” Rikona snapped. “This is still all just a theory!”

_Not willing to give in, huh?_ Rantaro thought. _Guess I have to do this the hard way…_

_Now, do I have something that could nail her down…?_

_...Wait. If **she’s** willing to cooperate, then…_

“Hey, Sachiko. Mind if I ask you something?”

Sachiko turned to him. “What?”

“Rikona ran past you on your way downstairs, correct?”

“Yeah. Was a total crying mess when she did.”

“What way was she going?”

“Upstairs. Why?”

Rantaro smirked to himself. “And there it is.”

“What!?” Rikona said incredulously. “What do you mean, there it is!? What does that prove!?”

“Well, Sachiko was going downstairs to the kitchen. And you running upstairs past her.”

“And!?”

“Since the dorm rooms are on the first floor and the kitchen is on the ground floor, that means you must have been going upstairs from the ground floor.”

“So what!?”

“So, if you really did hear the murder happen and immediately ran back to your room, as you so claim...”

Rantaro gave her a smug-looking smirk.

“_Then what exactly were you doing on the ground floor?_”

Rikona froze.

Sachiko stopped. “...Huh. Guess I didn’t think of that.”

“Wait, what would she have been doing on the ground floor?” Amai asked.

“The Monopad-Minis in the foyer, remember?” Rantaro explained. “This must have been after the murder happened and when she went down to get Saiko’s to unlock the male changing room door. But she just so happened to run past Sachiko on the way back.”

“Oh. I didn’t catch that.” Ayano said, before giving Rantaro a small smile. “Good find, Rantaro.”

“Uh, thanks.”

“Wait, hold on.” Haruto stopped him. “But Sachiko said she was crying, remember? That wouldn’t exactly make sense while she was pulling off the second stage of a murder.”

“Uh, fake crying is a thing.” Jasper said with a raised eyebrow. “You’re an actor. You should know about these things.”

Haruto grimaced and turned his gaze to the ground.

“Ignore him, Haru.” Rantaro reassured.

“I was thinking more,” Kokoro said. “Oh I don’t know, the fact she just killed someone? That’d be pretty traumatising.”

Jasper shrugged. “Saiko didn’t seem all that traumatised after killing Kaoru. Forget about that already, Hikari?”

“We’re not talking about Saiko here! And PLEASE don’t remind me!”

“Guys, please!” Rantaro said, trying to calm the two down. “Either way, whether she was fake crying or not, Sachiko saw Rikona running from DOWNstairs. So that proves she went to the ground floor at some point.” He turned his attention back to Rikona. “Which isn’t exactly in your favour.”

Rikona grimaced, biting on the nail of her thumb through her glove. “Nnnn…!”

Jasper gave her a look. “...I don’t think that’s good for the fabric-”

“Shut it! You’re missing a vital point in all this!”

“And that would be?” Rantaro asked.

“WHY ON EARTH WOULD I KILL HER!?”

“Uh, the motive?” Jasper answered. “Doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.”

“True,” Miko noted. “But if I recall correctly, Rikona wished to be close friends with Yuuma. Even if she wanted to kill over her secret, she would have gone after someone else, wouldn’t she?”

“…...Shit, you’re right.”

“Exactly!” Rikona said, half-triumphantly. “I can’t be the killer!”

“Uh, you still can!” Rantaro pointed out. “Still the most suspicious person in the room!”

“But unless I have a valid motive, I can’t be the killer!”

_Still not wanting to back down?_

_...Oh well. Guess putting off saying **this **‘til last was a good idea._

_No-one will believe me, but if I’m right…_

_Just gotta wait for the right opportunity…_

“Yuuma was my friend!” Rikona continued. “Why on earth _would I pull a knife on her!? A knife commissioned from Monokuma no less!_ It makes no sense!”

_There it is._

“That’s the thing, Rikona.” Rantaro said. “You _didn’t._”

Rikona stopped. “...What?”

“You heard me. You _didn’t_ pull the knife on her.”

“Wait, so she’s NOT the killer now?” Ahmya asked.

“No, she’s still the killer.”

“Then how does this make ANY kind of sense!?” Tsumugi questioned.

“Because she didn’t pull the knife on Yuuma. Or rather...”

He paused a little so that his next line would have more impact.

“_She didn’t **have** the knife._”

Rikona stopped. “Wait, what?”

“Eheh...Yeah...” Rantaro chuckled awkwardly, resting his hand behind his head. “I...May or may not have known who the knife belonged to this whole time...”

A loud “Wait, _WHAT!?_” echoed throughout the entire courtroom.

“Why didn’t you SAY anything!?” Kokoro snapped.

“So I could use it as evidence against the killer.” Rantaro explained. “I knew they would slip up at some point. You did the same thing last time with the rope fibres, remember? And besides,” He shrugged. “If I said it up front, nobody would have believed me.”

“Wait, so who had-” Kokoro started, but then stopped.

Her eyes widened in horrified realisation. “W-wait, you mean…!?”

Rantaro nodded. “That’s right.”

He then turned back to Rikona.

“Rikona..._Yuuma tried to kill you, didn’t she?_”

Rikona froze, her eyes widening in shock.

Rantaro smirked. “Bingo.”

“Wait,” Haruto started. “So YUUMA was the one who got the knife from Monokuma!?”

“Yep. Told me herself. Or rather...I caught her carrying it and demanded her to tell me why.”

“But why!?” Ahmya asked. “Why the hell would Yuuma ask for Monokuma to give her a knife!?”

“Well, she didn’t _ask_ me...” Monokuma said, reclining back on his throne.

“Wait, so it’s true…!?” Ayano asked.

“Yep! The one who received my gift was one Yuuma Todoroki! You got it!”

“...Oh….This changes...Everything.”

“But yeah, she didn’t really _ask_ for the knife.” The bear explained. “She just told me she was worried someone was gonna try to kill her after what happened with the sweet little paediatrician, and as a headmaster seeing his student in a moment of need, I just HAAAAD to give her a helping hand!”

“So...You gave her a _knife?_” Kokoro questioned. “Even though she probably didn’t want it!?”

“Eh. She needed help, decided to be a good headmaster and give her some.”

She grimaced. “...You’re sick…!”

“Moving on,” Rantaro continued. “That’s point A towards my theory. As for point B, Yuuma had something Rikona evidently didn’t.”

“What’s that?” Miko asked.

“Motivation.” He explained. “You see, her father is very sick due to an incident while making jewellery for his company. The reason she worked so hard for that company was to pay for better medicine for him. But she ended up in this killing game, with her on one end and her father on the other.”

“So...She tried to kill Rikona so she could save her father?” Kokoro asked.

“I think so. Because I very highly doubt that she would have been the type to kill her secret, even with how big it was.”

“So, Rikona didn’t kill Yuuma because of the motive at all?”

“Exactly. The murder wasn’t because of any secrets. It was out of self-defence.” He flashed a glare at Rikona. “Have anything to say about that?”

Rikona might as well have bitten through the fabric of her glove with how much she was biting at her nail. “Uuuu…!”

“Still not saying anything? Alright,” Rantaro said. “Guess it’s time we put it all together.”

“Makes sense,” Jasper said with a shrug. “The case is practically solved already. Someone’s just not wanting to admit it.”

Haruto nodded. “Yeah, good call.”

“Alright.” Rantaro began. “Everyone, listen up.

Everything began last night. Not with the killer, but with the victim: Yuuma Todoroki.

He left his room last night, his almost impossibly loud heels waking Jasper up.

Because of this, Jasper saw two more people leaving their rooms later on:

Sachiko, who had left to get a drink of water, and the killer.

However, this doesn’t factor in until later, so back to Yuuma.

He had wanted to use the bathhouse, and used his Monopad-Mini to get into the girls changing room.

But how was he able to get in? And why was he doing it so late, anyway?

Simple.

Because he was really a _she_.

The reason Yuuma didn’t do it until the middle of the night was so nobody could catch her and discover her secret.

But unfortunately, that’s what ended up happening.

When Yuuma had just gotten changed, the killer walked in, hoping to use the bathhouse as well.

However, they immediately discovered Yuuma’s secret.

After what I assume was a long and awkward explanation from Yuuma’s end, she decided to use the fact that the two of them were alone as an opportunity.

She took out the knife she had gotten from Monokuma a few days before, and attacked the killer.

The killer managed to dodge just in time, leading to the knife getting stuck in the mirror, causing it to break.

The killer then decided to use Yuuma trying to pull the knife out of the mirror as an opportunity, so they took a nearby towel…

And strangled Yuuma to death with it.

I’m not sure if they even intended to kill Yuuma, but they now had a body on their hands.

They decided that the least they could do is preserve the victim’s dignity, and headed to the ground floor to get Saiko’s Monopad-Mini from the foyer.

However, this was when Sachiko left her room, and the killer ran past her on their way back.

Sachiko likely didn’t think anything of this at the time, but this brief encounter was what proves the killer’s alibi was a lie.

After arriving back to the bathhouse on the second floor, the killer unlocked the male changing room door with Saiko’s Monopad-Mini, took Yuuma’s body from the girls changing room and moved it into the boys changing room.

You see, their plan was to make it look like she died there rather than in the girls changing room, in order to hide Yuuma’s secret from everyone.

To seal the deal, they slit the now dead Yuuma’s throat with the knife, and destroyed Yuuma’s Monopad-Mini with it in order to make sure Yuuma’s secret remained hidden.

And once that was done, a now likely very tired killer headed back to their room to go to sleep.

However, they made three mistakes in their plan:

One: they left their murder weapon – the towel – lying on the floor of the girls changing room and didn’t provide any kind of explanation for the broken mirror.

Two: they didn’t do anything regarding the boys changing room other than leaving the body there. Since nobody had used the bathhouse, the room was good as new as a result. Way too clean for a crime scene, to be exact.

And three: they left Saiko’s Monopad-Mini on top of the scanner. This was likely either due to the killer’s, um..._Smaller_ stature, or they just forgot about it, but it was vital evidence that they left behind.

And not just that.

The next morning, Miko noticed it lying on the scanner on the way to his lab.

Not realising it was Saiko’s, he opened the door to see if anything else had been left behind, only to find Yuuma’s body.

Since nobody was planning on using a communal bathhouse anytime soon, if the killer hadn’t left the Monopad-Mini behind, we probably would have never even found the body.

The killer made too many mistakes for this to be a perfect crime, and it ends here!

It’s checkmate now, Rikona! You lose!”

Ayano raised an eyebrow. “...Was the ‘checkmate’ line really necessary?”

Rantaro shrugged. “I don’t know, I saw the opportunity and took it.”

“Now isn’t exactly the time for one-liners, Rantaro.”

“Right. Sorry.”

Jasper shrugged. “I liked it.”

“Either way, it’s all over now.” Rantaro turned to Rikona. “I’ve laid it all out, plain and simple. The killer can’t be anyone else, Rikona. Got anything to say for yourself?”

“Nnn…!” Rikona nervously stammered. “N-no, this is all wrong! I didn’t kill her, I…!”

Then she did something no-one was expecting.

She burst into tears.

“WAAAAAAAAHHHHH! I’M SOOOOORRRYYYYYYY!”

Rantaro stopped. “What?”

“I DIDN’T MEAN IIIIT! I DIDN’T WANT TO KILL HEEEER! WAAAAAHAHAAAAH!”

Rantaro frowned. “...So that’s it...”

“You got it right again.” Jasper said with a smirk. “Why should I be surprised?”

“Jasper, now is not the time!” Kokoro snapped.

“Either way, it’s about time we vote, isn’t it?”

“Right you are!” Monokuma agreed. “Same as last time, everyone has to vote! So don’t forget! Upupu! The voting time begiiiiiins...NOW!”

Right on cue, everyone’s voting grids folded out of their podiums and the 60 second timer started counting down.

It didn’t take too long for Rantaro to cast his vote. He never really felt an emotional connection with Rikona, and whether she wanted to or not, she did kill his friend.

It didn’t take too long for everyone else to vote either, so the grids quickly folded back in.

“The votes are in, everybody!” Monokuma announced as the screen lowered down behind him. “Let’s see what we got!”

The screen lit up, revealing a unanimous vote for Rikona.

Rantaro also noticed that, unlike last time, Rikona herself actually voted.

For herself.

He frowned uneasily.

“Now that all of your votes have been counted,” Monokuma continued as the screen folded back away. “I can now say that you got it…

CORRECT! The killer of the Ultimate Jeweller Yuuma Todoroki, was the Ultimate Chess Player Rikona Fumiko!” He chuckled to himself. “Two correct votes in a row! You should be proud of yourselves!”

Rikona still had tears in her eyes and was looking down uneasily. “U-uuuuh...”

“So you did kill her?” Rantaro asked.

After a brief hesitation, Rikona nodded uneasily. “I’m sorry...”

“You killed someone.” Ayano said coldly. “It’s going to take a lot more than ‘I’m sorry’ to make up for it.”

“I know that! I-I...”

“Ayano, back off!” Haruto argued. “She didn’t want to kill her, remember? Yuuma attacked her first! And she went to all the extra trouble of hiding her secret too!”

“Speaking of,” Tsumugi asked. “Why’d you bother doing that? Sounds like a lot of unnecessary work if you ask me.”

“I had to!” Rikona argued. “It would have been rude otherwise!”

“Rude to the person you literally just murdered?”

“I didn’t WANT to kill her! And Yuuma was my friend! It was the least I could do!”

“So, I was right about Yuuma attacking you first?” Rantaro asked.

Rikona eyed the ground. “I guess I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time or something...After telling me that she was a girl, she suddenly apologised and said something about ‘having to do this for her father’ and took out the knife and...I didn’t want to kill her! I panicked!”

Rantaro grimaced. _So it really wasn’t out of a secret after all…_

“Well just out of curiosity,” Kokoro asked. “What was your secret?”

“It really doesn’t matter,” Rikona answered. “But it was that I cheated in my first ever professional chess competition...”

Kokoro stopped. “_What!?_”

“The orphanage needed to repair a hole in the roofing so I wanted to win a professional competition so I could get the money to pay for it.” She explained. “I managed to get into the final, but the person I was up against was a lot more experienced than I was...Not wanting to let everyone down, I discreetly made a deal with him.”

“A deal?”

“That if he let me win, I’d split the money with him. Even if I only got half of the prize, it still would have been enough to fix the damaged roof.”

“So you fixed the match so you could pay for the repairs?” Rantaro asked. “That’s...Pretty selfless.”

“Well, nobody found out for years! I played cleanly in all of my other competitions before getting my Ultimate title! It was just that one!” She frowned. “But it doesn’t matter. I didn’t kill Yuuma over it anyway...”

Rantaro sighed.

_If she’s willing to risk her reputation by cheating just to pay for repairs to her orphanage,_ He thought. _Then the whole uptight thing was probably just a front after all…_

“Well what about Yuuma?” Jasper asked.

Rantaro stopped. “What?”

“This feels like the point where Monokuma would provide some kind of backstory or explanation on the victim’s behalf.” He explained, turning to the bear. “So?”

“Upupu! You know me too well!” Monokuma laughed. “Alright, I’ll tell you!”

“Wait, you actually know?” Kokoro questioned.

“Of course I know! It’s a headmaster’s job to know aaaalllll about his beloved students! How do you think I knew about your secrets, after all?”

Kokoro frowned. “Good point...”

“Anyway, allow me to tell you the sad story of a girl named Kokona Todoroki...”

“Kokona...” Rantaro echoed. “Is that Yuuma’s real name?”

“Right you are!”

_Kokona Todoroki…_

_That’s actually a pretty nice name._

“Her parents were always fighting,” Monokuma went on. “Ejiro, a man wishing to start a jewellery company, and Carmine, who just wanted to live off of the man’s profits. It wasn’t too long until the couple got a divorce-”

“Yeah, I know this part.” Rantaro said, recalling something Yuuma told him way back. “The father got custody of Yuuma, and the mother got custody of her sister.”

“AHH-AAAAH!” Monokuma did an impression of a wrong answer buzzer on a gameshow. “That’s wrong!”

Rantaro stopped. “What? But that’s what she-”

“First off, she never HAD a sister!”

“Wait, _what!?_ But her sister was the girl in that picture she showed me!”

“Nope! The sister she told you about never existed! The girl in that picture was _her!_”

“...What…!?”

“Yep! The whole sister story was a cover for her secret! It was a _lie!_”

Rantaro couldn’t deny that he was in shock.

_So the girl in that picture…_ He thought. _That’s what Yuuma used to look like…?_

“And second,” Monokuma continued. “Ejiro wasn’t the one who got custody! _Carmine_ was!”

“Wait, so the _mother_ was the one who got custody!?” Rantaro questioned. “Why didn’t she tell me about that!?”

“Upupu…!” Monokuma chuckled. “Are you SUUUUURE you wanna know…?”

Rantaro stopped. “Well, I-”

“Too bad, telling you anyway! Kokona wasn’t happy to be staying with her mother, considering how she only ever cared about her father’s money. But Carmine wasn’t happy to be staying with Kokona either! Because she never WANTED a daughter!”

His red eye flashed menacingly.

“She wanted a **son**.”

Everyone was frozen in shock as soon as they realised what Monokuma meant.

“Upupu! That’s right!” An unfazed Monokuma laughed. “Yuuma was CONDITIONED into living as a boy! And if she fought back, ohoho…! The things her mother did…! Oh, how despair inducing~!”

“She was _forced_ to…!?” Rantaro started. “T-that’s…!”

“That’s awful!” Kokoro stammered. “T-that’s terrible!”

“Why would anyone DO that!?” Haruto argued. “And she GOT AWAY with it!?”

“Well yes, but actually no.” Monokuma explained. “Carmine ended up getting arrested for something years later, but nobody found out what she forced Kokona to do over those last few years.”

“So after that, did Ejiro get custody back?” Ahmya asked.

“Of course! And the man was FURIOUS with what his ex-wife did! But since Kokona had spent so much time living as Yuuma, she had no choice but to keep it up. Even though Carmine wasn’t there to, well..._Discipline_ her, she still feared the consequences of her secret getting out...Isn’t that just so despairful~?”

“Forced to act a certain way through abuse…?” Ayano frowned sympathetically. “That’s awful...”

“Grr…!” Rikona growled. “If I ever got my hands on that woman I swear I’d…!”

“That’s if I don’t get my hands on her first!” Sachiko hissed. “I’ll slice her fucking chest open!”

_I knew that Yuuma had to have some kind of reason for hiding her gender, but…_ Rantaro thought. _I never thought it’d be as awful as this…!_

_I guess it explains why she cared so much for her father, too...After getting out of there, she finally had someone who cared for her..._

_If I find that Carmine...For what she did to her, I swear I’ll…!_

“Thinking a bit ahead of ourselves, are we?” Monokuma tutted them. “You’re all still here, remember?”

Rantaro grimaced. “Try not to remind us...”

“Either way, as Rantaro said, her father got very sick and Kokona – or rather, Yuuma – got trapped in a killing game. So after everything he did for her, it’s no wonder she was willing to kill her friend in order to save him!”

Rikona frowned and eyed the ground. “Nn...”

“That was so despair inducing, wasn’t it? Upupu! But despite how fun telling that story was...”

Monokuma smiled menacingly.

“The time for _punishing_ is coming…!”

Everyone was stunned back into silence.

With the shock of hearing everything that happened to Yuuma before the killing game, everyone had completely forgotten what was going to happen to Rikona.

“Y-you’re...Gonna _execute _her…!?” Rantaro started.

“Of course! It’s in the rules, remember?” Monokuma chirpily replied.

Miko shook his head and forced his eyes shut, rapidly muttering “ohgodnotagainohgodnotagainohgodnotagainohgodnotagain” under his breath.

Kokoro also had a similar reaction. “N-no! I don’t want to see this…!”

“Oh, you don’t want to see a murderer get punished~?” Monokuma cooed.

“W-wait a second!” Rikona stammered. “I-I didn’t intend to kill her! It was out of self-defence! That warrants a change in the rules, r-right?”

“Hmmmm...” Monokuma thought for a second, before answering with a cheerful “Nope!”

Rikona’s eyes widened in terror. “W-what!? B-but I-!”

“Ah-ah-aaaah! Self-defence or not, you still killed someone! And anyone who gets caught for killing one of their classmates will be punished! Oh and wouldya look at that! I have a _veerry_ special punishment for Rikona Fumiko, the Ultimate Chess Player!”

Tears were starting to form in Rikona’s eyes again. “U-uuuh…!”

“Now, let’s give it _EVERYTHING WE’VE GOT!_” Monokuma twirled his gavel in his hand as the button appeared in front of him. “_IIIIIT’S **PUNISHMENT TIME!!!!!**_”

As the bear brought his gavel down on the button, Rikona burst into tears again.

“WAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

_ **GAME OVER** _

_ **Rikona has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!** _

A massive chessboard with pieces the size of actual people had been set up.

Each of the pieces were carved to look like the different soldiers they represented, carrying different weapons; the pawns were given handaxes, the rooks were given longswords, the knights were on horseback with lances, the bishops were given staff-like halberds, and the queens were given axes long and sharp enough to belong to an executioner.

Well, aside from the kings. The kings were instead set up as podiums.

The black king had a throne, with a grinning Monokuma sitting on it.

As for Rikona, she was shackled on top of the white king with heavy chains.

She was terrified – she was about to die, after all – until Monokuma gave her a signal.

It was her move.

“_**Checkmate, Loser!” - Rikona Fumiko, Ultimate Chess Player’s execution**_

Rikona couldn’t help but smirk to herself.

She had to beat Monokuma in a chess match?

She was the Ultimate Chess Player! This peasant would have to try harder than _that!_

She ordered one of her pawns two spaces forward, to which Monokuma responded with a similar move.

It didn’t take long before Rikona fell back into her usual rhythm.

She took black piece after black piece, not losing any of her own while Monokuma’s army was whittled down one by one.

She smiled victoriously to herself.

She was doing this! She might be able to escape!

In a matter of minutes, only the black king and queen were left, and all of the white pieces still remained on the board.

She flashed a smirk to Monokuma as if to say “what’re you gonna do now?”

The bear’s brow was furrowed in irritation and sweat was dripping down his forehead.

He growled “oh, fuck it!” before reaching behind the throne and pulling out a massive gatling gun.

The smirk practically fell off of Rikona’s face.

Without any warning, the gatling gun roared to life and a spray of bullets flew forward.

First effortlessly crumbling one of her bishops to a pile of rubble, then doing the same to one of her knights.

Rikona started panicking and immediately tried to get her pieces to dodge.

It was no use.

One by one, each of her pieces was shredded to rubble by the bullets.

Just as quickly as she did to Monokuma, the white king was the only piece left.

Rikona had no way to defend herself.

Monokuma laughed to himself as the black queen slowly made it’s way forward square by square, tapping her axe against her free hand like a street gangster would do with a bat.

It eventually was right in front of her, it’s shadow completely covering her.

It raised it’s axe.

Rikona shook in terror, tears beading in the corner of her eyes as she choked out a pathetic cry.

The black queen brought down it’s axe.

Both the white king and what was formerly the Ultimate Chess Player were crushed into pieces with a mighty smash.

“I don’t know about you,” Monokuma said, as the screen that had just showed Rikona’s final moments was being retracted out of sight. “But I’d call that execution a total SUCCESS!”

Nobody said anything.

The bear pouted. “Oh come on, no-one’s happy with it? I worked so hard on it!”

“Of COURSE no-one’s happy with it!” Kokoro snapped. “Someone just DIED!”

“Someone who just _murdered_ someone! Shouldn’t you be glad that a murderer is no longer living alongside you~?”

Kokoro was about to snap back, but turned her eyes to the ground with a grimace.

“Oh, cat got your tongue? Upupu, how despairing~!”

Kokoro bit down on her lip, desperately trying to come up with a counterargument, but evidently nothing came.

Instead, Jasper spoke up.

“Before you leave, I have a quick question.”

“Oh?” Monokuma asked. “A question from one of my students? Why, of course!”

“Each time we find a killer, you put on those unnecessarily elaborate executions for them.”

“Well I wouldn’t call it unnecessary-”

“Not my point. My point is _why?_”

Monokuma cocked his head, curious. “Oh…?”

“I know you enjoy putting on a show, Monokuma.” Jasper continued. “That much is apparent. But...”

He flashed the bear a malicious smile as the dark glow to his eyes returned.

“_Why bother with all the extra effort if we’re the only ones watching?_”

Monokuma suddenly flinched, as if even he wasn’t expecting what Jasper just asked him.

“U-uh...Well, I...” He started with a slight stammer, but it didn’t take long for him to brush his reaction off and answer with his usual charm.

“Why, to fill not just the blackened, but all my students with despair of course! These punishments are specially crafted to turn _eeeeveryone’s_ hope into such wonderful despair!”

Jasper, however, wasn’t surprised by this response.

He smirked to himself. “Thought so. You certainly want us to play your game, don’t you?”

“Upupu! Can’t let this killing game go to waste, after all!”

“Ehehe..._We’ll see about that._”

Jasper chuckled maliciously to himself.

“Oh well,” Monokuma said. “It’s getting pretty late, huh? All this chasing after the killer has gone on for hoooouuurs! It’s nighttime now! So you all better rest up for a brand new despair-filled day tomorrow!” He waved to them. “Upupu! Buh-bye!”

Just like that, Monokuma was gone.

A heavy silence hung over the group.

The fact that both Yuuma and Rikona were dead was sinking in, and nobody was saying anything.

Rantaro realised that this is the first time he was seeing what everyone did after a trial.

He didn’t see this part after Saiko’s execution, as he had ran back to his dorm room on the verge of a breakdown in the middle of Monokuma’s speech.

Now he wasn’t sure if missing out on this part was a blessing or a curse.

Jasper sighed and pushed his glasses up. “Good thing we don’t have to deal with that bear anymore...He truly was getting annoying.”

Tsumugi grimaced. “I can’t believe I’m actually agreeing with you.”

Kokoro gritted her teeth and shook her head. “T-that was…”

Miko was very shaken by what had just happened. “T-this is…! Why do we have to keep doing this!?”

Ayano didn’t say anything, but frowned and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

Haruto shook his head. “This is torture...” He pulled down his fedora. “Neither of them deserved what happened...”

Even though he didn’t say anything, Rantaro couldn’t help but agree.

Yuuma just wanted to save her father, and Rikona was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

She had been forced to kill her friend.

Despite the fact that he really didn’t care too much for the bratty Ultimate Chess Player, Rantaro couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

For both of them.

Now, they were just two more sacrifices to Monokuma’s killing game.

Before he could say anything, someone he didn’t – no, _nobody_ even expected spoke up.

“So what, you all gonna just stand there?”

Rantaro stopped.

“Sachiko?”

The girl in question tutted. “I dunno, seems pretty fuckin stupid for all of us to just stand here. Sure, Rikona just died, but that doesn’t mean we just stay here and be sad all night, does it?”

Rantaro’s eyes widened in surprise. _What?_

Tsumugi narrowed her eyes skeptically. “Weren’t you paying attention, idiot? Yuuma was murdered and Rikona got crushed by a giant axe.”

“You not listening or something?” Sachiko hissed. “I know this is a hard time right now. But if we all just stay here and be sad about it, nothing’s gonna happen. And doing that’s just fucking useless isn’t it?”

Haruto nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” He gave her a confident smile. “I know two more of our friends are dead, but we can’t let that stop us, you know?”

Sachiko averted his gaze, but nodded.

Jasper smirked. “Didn’t expect you to be the motivational type, Sachiko.”

Sachiko folded her arms. “Wasn’t trying to be motivational. Just said what I wanted to say. That’s it.”

“Well it certainly helped.” Haruto said with a wink.

Sachiko turned away. “Whatever...”

“Either way,” He turned back to address the rest of the group. “It is pretty late. We’ll have to figure out what we’re gonna do next once we get up tomorrow.”

Rantaro nodded. “Right. So we’ll meet up tomorrow morning. That okay with everyone?”

There was a general murmur of agreement amongst the remaining group.

“Good.” Rantaro said, turning towards the elevator. “We all need to stick together. No matter what happens.”

Everyone filed into the elevator before it began it’s slow ascent upwards.

During the awkwardly silent ride back up, Rantaro felt his heart sink when he noticed that there were only ten of them left.

He bit his lower lip.

_I can’t let that stop me._

_We have to keep going for everyone we’ve lost, and for everyone we have left._

The elevator stopped, and everyone started making their way to their respective dorm rooms.

Rantaro got into his and practically fell backwards onto the bed.

He didn’t go to sleep. He just stared at the ceiling.

He sighed.

“Yuuma...Rikona...I’m sorry.” He muttered. “I wasn’t able to save any of you, just like last time...But we’re all going to get out of here. We’re going to take Monokuma down, for everyone who died.” He gave a small smile. “So you can rest easy now. We’re not gonna die anytime soon.”

With that, he turned over and, with the exhaustion of everything that happened catching up to him, he finally fell asleep.

**Chapter 2: Secrets, Lies, and Empty Skies – completed!**

Students remaining: 10

Rantaro Amami – Ultimate Adventurer

Kokoro Hikari – Ultimate Lucky Student

Jasper Shion – Ultimate ???

<strike>Saiko Aishi – Ultimate Historian</strike>

Amai Akuma – Ultimate Digital Artist

<strike>Rikona Fumiko – Ultimate Chess Player</strike>

<strike>Kaoru Odayaka – Ultimate Paediatrician</strike>

Haruto Sora – Ultimate Broadway Actor

Sachiko Akahana – Ultimate Delinquent

Ayano Sunako – Ultimate Physicist

Miko Tsunade – Ultimate Bladesmith

Ahmya Aika – Ultimate Archer

<strike>Yuuma Todoroki – Ultimate Jeweller</strike>

Tsumugi Shirogane – Ultimate Confectioner

“Seriously!?”

An irritated man with short light hair and glasses wearing a suit drummed his fingers on a table. A number of people, also wearing similar suits were sitting around the table. The room also had numerous desks with desktop computers on each side, with a large LCD display screen at the front of the room.

“What’s the problem?” A blonde woman with a flowery hairband asked.

“What do you THINK the problem is!?” The man with the glasses pointed angrily at the screen. “She literally just re-used the exact same plot twist from the second chapter of the FIRST killing game!”

A man with long and messy dark hair twirled a lock around his finger. “She’s obsessed with those Hope’s Peak games, honestly...”

“Well,” The blonde woman put a finger to her chin. “I guess she changed it enough to warrant it being used.”

“Uh, yeah. No _shit_.” The man with the glasses folded his arms. “She just changed it from a girl really being a guy to a guy really being a girl.”

“With the fact that a crossdresser even auditioned, it’s really no surprise.” The messy haired man said with a shrug.

“Well, the audience liked the plot twist.” The blonde woman pointed out. “And Yuuma was an interesting enough character, given her backstory. Not to mention the fact that her best friend was forced to kill her was an interesting development.”

The man with the glasses raised an eyebrow. “And _how_ many people have compared it to the first killing game so far?”

She pressed her mouth into a line and looked away. “...Quite a few...”

“Exactly! If Shirogane keeps pulling this shit, the audience will get bored and stop watching! We should just fire her now!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” A calmer voice said.

“Oh?” The man turned to face the voice’s source.

He had messy white hair in a low ponytail that went down a little below his shoulders, with a fringe slightly covering his left eye. His skin was pale and his eyes were an unsettling red colour.

Just like everyone else in the room, a symbol similar to Monokuma’s red eye with the letters “DR” above it was embroidered on the breast pocket of his suit.

He smiled. “I don’t think we should fire her yet.”

“What makes you say that?” The messy haired man questioned.

“She’s fun to play around with, isn’t she? Remember how she reacted when she read ‘YOU ARE THE MASTERMIND’ on that slip of paper?”

The blonde woman laughed a little. “I guess that was pretty funny...”

“Well the audience are getting bored of her.” The man with the glasses pointed out, folding his arms. “She’s been the mastermind for the past few games, not to mention the constant callbacks to Hope’s Peak.”

“That was years ago, she needs to move on.” The messy haired man seconded.

“Oh, she wants Hope’s Peak callbacks?” The red eyed man cooed. “I have one.”

“...What?”

“One I think the audience will quite like, actually. It’s quite unique compared to the others.”

“If you’re so sure...”

“And besides, nobody’s going to stop watching anyway.” He continued with a smirk. “Especially while _my little player_ stays alive.”

The messy haired man grimaced. “Speaking of which. Are you sure keeping them alive is a good idea?”

“Yeah, as soon as Shirogane finds out who they really are, she’ll kill them right on the spot.” The man with the glasses agreed.

“Oh please,” The red eyed man brushed his concerns off. “She’s way too far gone to even remember. And besides, the audience enjoys having them around, don’t they?”

The blonde haired woman scrolled through something on a nearby computer, and nodded. “Yes, the audience has taken quite a liking to them, in fact.”

“See?” He reclined back in his chair. “Despite Shirogane’s stunt, we’re still fine. We still have many interested viewers wanting to see what happens next, and we’ve already been approved for a 53rd season. And keeping my player alive to do their worst is the icing on the cake, so we can just lie back and relax for now. No need to thank me.”

The messy haired man grimaced. “...You’re playing a dangerous game, Slade.”

Slade chuckled.

“My friend..._Isn’t that what Danganronpa is all about~?_”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now chapter 2 has come to a close.
> 
> Well done to anyone who guessed Rikona as Yuuma's killer!  
Fun fact, Rikona's execution was actually the first execution I came up with for DFTH! When I was laying out the death order, my first immediate thought for Rikona was that her execution would involve being forced to play against Monokuma on a giant chessboard. And that was before I even decided if she was gonna be a killer yet!
> 
> As for Yuuma, I also came up with her backstory pretty early on. I knew that having her dress as a boy out of choice would be a bit TOO similar to Chihiro (even though that was kinda the point because of the final scene lol), so I came up with the idea of it being done by force by her abusive mother.  
So before anyone asks, no. Yuuma is NOT transgender.
> 
> Either way, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! And thank you so much for reading until the end! <3  
As for what Slade has planned for chapter 3...You're just gonna have to wait and see~
> 
> Please leave any reactions and/or theories and/or angry/sad screaming in the comments below!


	19. Where Are You Now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even after two more people had died, Monokuma goes back to his usual routine of allowing students access to the third floor and three more Ultimate Labs.

“So what? You failed?”

Rantaro grimaced, folding his arms and averting the man’s gaze.

The two of them were in an ornate office, with many knick-knacks like a fancy globe and a long left chessboard lying around, as well as a number of hardback books in a dark and dusty bookshelf. The large mahogany desk took up most of the room, with the aforementioned globe as well as papers in a neat pile next to an inkwell with a pen upon it.

The man Rantaro was talking to was sitting at this desk, holding a cigar in one hand and drumming on the desk impatiently with the other. He had light hair with a slight green tinge – almost the colour of green tea with way too much milk – that had lightened significantly from age which was slicked back. He was wearing a white shirt with a black suit jacket over it; all he really needed was a tie and he’d be ready for a meeting. His eyes were a darker green colour, and were locked in a direct glare at Rantaro.

This man was Kenshiro Amami, the head of an incredibly successful multi-million business.

He was also Rantaro’s father.

“What are you going to do now?” He continued, a mocking lilt in his voice. “Run away to another country?”

“It’s _not_ running away!” Rantaro argued. _Even though it kind of is._ “It’s-!”

“Yes yes, trying to find all the sisters you left behind so you could reunite and play happy families again. Is that it?”

Rantaro was about to say something, but shut his mouth and looked away.

“Rantaro, you and I both know that this little searching game of yours is a waste of time.”

“It’s NOT A GAME-!”

Kenshiro slapped him across the face.

“I wasn’t finished.” He said with a cold glare as he sat back down. “And how _dare_ you raise your voice at me.”

Rantaro bit back the curses he wanted to spit out and got back up.

Kenshiro sighed. “This recent behaviour of yours is very disappointing. The lengths I go to to make sure this family stays where it is, and yet you still insist on running away. The fact that more and more of my daughters keep vanishing whenever you go on your little travels is enough of a blow to the family name as it is. Don’t you understand that?”

“Of course I understand that.” Rantaro said, before hissing “Because that’s all you ever care about…” Under his breath.

That was evidently a very big mistake.

Kenshiro’s eyes narrowed. “What was that…?”

Rantaro froze, realising he said the last part out loud. “U-uh…!”

“This is _exactly_ what I mean. I keep trying and trying to keep my company alive in the face of the stunts you keep pulling, and you don’t seem to care one bit.”

He readied his cigar, while grabbing Rantaro’s wrist with his free hand in a vice-like grip.

“Wh- hey-!” Rantaro stammered, realising what was going to happen next.

“No. You stepped out of line, Rantaro.”

Kenshiro lifted the cigar up, so that it was directly above Rantaro’s restrained hand.

“_And you need to face the consequences._”

He pressed the end of the still-lit cigar into Rantaro’s hand.

Rantaro tensed and clenched his hand to the best of his ability in pain, but forced his eyes shut and bit his lip to keep himself from crying out, knowing Kenshiro would only make it hurt more if he did.

After a few excruciating seconds that felt like at least an hour, Kenshiro shoved his hand away before tapping the cigar’s ash off in a nearby ashtray.

“I would hope that this teaches you, but having already done this numerous times…” He sighed and shook his head before pointing to the door. “There’s no point, you won’t listen to me anyway. _Leave._”

Rantaro grimaced, before slowly making his way out the door.

When he figured that he was out of earshot, he immediately darted to the nearest room with a sink and ran cold water over his hand.

He took it out after a few seconds. The area where Kenshiro burned him still stung, and it had left a nasty mark.

He frowned before shoving his hand under the tap again.

After the last few times, he knew it would take days for this mark to clear up. So how was he meant to spend the next few days without any of them noticing-?

“Big bro?”

Rantaro froze. _Crap._

The girl at the door was a bit shorter than him, wearing a white vest and light blue denim jeans. She had a shark tooth necklace around her neck and a mahogany bead bracelet around her left wrist – both of which were presents Rantaro had gotten her on his travels. Her green hair was styled in a messy fringe that partially covered her left eye with an undercut. Her right eye was kind of off-colour, a more pinkish colour compared to her left eye, and her face was dotted with freckles.

This girl – Emilia Amami, the eldest out of Rantaro’s 12 younger sisters – was standing at the door with a concerned look on her face.

“I heard you and dad shouting. What’s going on?”

“U-uh-!” Rantaro hurriedly turned the tap off and turned around to face her, hiding the burned hand behind his back. “O-oh, it’s nothing to worry about…!”

Emilia raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“O-of course! I was, uh...” He looked over to the sink, realising he needed to think up an excuse for that too. “...Washing my hands. Yeah.”

Emilia wasn’t convinced. He had pulled this routine before, after all.

“…Show me your hand.”

“What? Why would I need to-?”

“Rantaro. _Show me your hand._”

Rantaro sighed, reluctantly bringing out his hand from behind his back.

Her eyes widened when she saw the burn mark. “T-that’s-!”

“Emi, it’s really nothing to worry about-”

“I’ll get some ice for it! I’ll be right back!”

“You don’t have to-”

Before Rantaro could finish objecting, she had already ran out of the door.

He sighed. His sisters worrying about him was the last thing he needed right now.

But he had to admit, some ice would help.

Emilia eventually came back with an ice pack. She took Rantaro’s hand – albeit a little forcefully – and pressed the ice pack down on it, causing him to wince a little from the sudden chill.

“I have no idea why he keeps doing this,” She muttered. “This is just awful!”

Rantaro grimaced. He really didn’t have an answer for that.

“I should get some bandages…” She looked back up to him. “There are some in that medicine cabinet behind the mirror, right?”

“Huh? Uh, I think. But you really don’t need to-”

“Of course I do! Dad really shouldn’t be doing stuff like this!” She walked over to the mirror above the sink, and opened up the cabinet behind it to get the bandages from inside. She walked back over to Rantaro and started tying them around the burn.

“Hopefully this is loose enough so you’ll still be able to use your hand…”

“Heh, yeah...” Rantaro chuckled dryly. “I kinda need to use my hand...”

She ripped the end of the bandages off and went to put them back.

Rantaro grimaced. “You really didn’t need to do this, Emi.”

“Nonsense! Of course I had to do this! You got hurt so I should help you, right?”

“I know, but-”

“Exactly! Besides, it looked like it really hurt, so it was the least I could do.”

Rantaro was about to object again, but sighed.

He half-smiled. “Thank you, Emi.”

Emilia grinned. “No prob, big bro!” She jumped up and started to lead him to the door. “Why don’t we put some TV on? That show you like is probably gonna be on soon!”

As she lead him out the door, Rantaro could admit that that would help.

But…Something felt off.

His surroundings started to become less saturated and fuzzy, the sound of Emilia suggesting things to do started to sound echoey, and the sensation of her hand in his was starting to feel further and further away.

It was getting hard to keep his eyes open. Did that burn do more than he first thought?

Everything started to feel further and further away, until…

_Huh…?_

Rantaro blearily opened his eyes, blinking a few times to get the remaining sleep out of them.

On impulse, he brought his hand up to his vision.

No burn marks or bandages.

He wasn’t back at home with Emi.

He was still here.

He sat back up and took a deep breath, bringing his hand to his forehead.

_Why would I remember that now…?_

He sighed and shook his head, before getting up and going to the bathroom to splash water on his face to fully wake himself up.

_I can’t be focusing on the past right now…I still need to figure out how to get out of here before I can start thinking about her…_

He quickly fixed his hair and makeup, before leaving his room.

It was still a while before the morning announcement, so not a lot of people had left their rooms yet.

Well, he was awake now. He might as well make himself some coffee.

As he headed down to the dining hall, he noticed that two people had gotten there before him.

Sachiko was already there, and was getting a drink from the vending machine.

Haruto had likely arrived not that long before he did, and he was just walking in.

“Hey.” He greeted when she caught his eye.

Sachiko looked up for a brief moment, before turning back around to pick the freshly dispensed drink up.

Rantaro decided it was best to not walk in yet and just stay at the doorway for a few minutes.

“What is it?” Sachiko questioned as she turned back around.

“I’m…Just saying hi.” Haruto said with a shrug. “Thought I’d be polite I guess.”

Her eyes narrowed a little, evidently in confusion. “…Why?”

“Because…I wanted to be polite?”

Sachiko’s lips pressed into a firm line. “…Huh…”

“Well,” Haruto shrugged, before turning around and starting to walk away. “If you don’t want to talk to me, then-”

“Why are you doing this?”

He stopped. “Hm?”

Sachiko’s face was crossed with confusion. “You heard me. Why are you doing this?”

Rantaro was so invested in what was happening that he didn’t notice Kokoro walking up from behind.

“Good mor-!”

Rantaro immediately spun around and clapped his hand over her mouth.

“MMF-!”

He put his finger to his mouth in a “shhh” sign, before gesturing to what was happening in the dining room.

“Huh?” Kokoro leaned forward a little to see what was going on. “Ohh. Got it.”

“…Uh...” Haruto started. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.” Sachiko answered. “Ever since we got here, you’ve constantly been trying to talk to me or whatever.”

“Um…Why wouldn’t I be? We’re all in the same boat here.”

“How’s that?”

“I mean, we’ve all been trapped in a life-or-death game by a psychotic teddy bear.” He sighed, pulling his fedora down a bit. “And now that four people have died, people might feel like they have no choice but to watch their backs…But thinking like that isn’t the best thing to do.” He looked back up to her with a smile. “So we gotta stick together, right?”

“That’s not what I meant, Haruto.”

Haruto’s smile faded. “Huh?”

“Wait I’m confused, what else could she have meant-?” Kokoro started.

Rantaro pushed his finger to her mouth to get her to shut up.

“You know what I meant.” Sachiko continued. “All of us came from completely different places. Kaoru worked in a hospital, Saiko probably worked in some stuffy old college, Yuuma worked for her father- hell, you’re a _famous actor._”

Haruto put his hand behind his head and looked off to the side with a slight grimace. “Well I wouldn’t say famous-”

“Not my point. Point is, I’m not the type of person people like you, quote unquote, ‘should be associating with’.”

Haruto looked bewildered. “…What??”

“Think about it. You’re a stage actor, and I’m essentially a street thug. Those types don’t usually get along. So why are you bothering to talk to me?”

“…Because I _want_ to talk to you?”

Sachiko stopped. “…Huh?”

“I’m talking to you because I want to talk to you. I don’t know if you want to talk to me or not, but whatever, it’s your choice.”

Her eyes narrowed. “…But…Why?”

He sighed. “Let me guess. You’re not used to people wanting to talk to you, right?”

She stopped and turned away for a brief second.

“I mean if you don’t want to, that’s fine.” Haruto continued. “Even if it is because of that dumb rule you said earlier. I mean, who says we’re not meant to talk to each other? Screw that!” He chuckled.

Sachiko’s eyes narrowed a little. “…Like I said before. You’re weird.”

He shrugged. “I’ve been called worse.” He started to turn around. “But if you don’t want to talk to me, then-”

“Hey.”

Haruto stopped and turned back around. “Huh?”

Sachiko sighed, then looked away to avert his gaze.

“…Thanks for defending me last night.”

Haruto looked bewildered at first, but then gave her his trademark smile.

“No problem! I’m willing to do it all over again.”

She pressed her lips into a line. “…Thanks…”

As if on cue, Monokuma’s morning announcement blared through the speakers.

Rantaro decided that this would be a good time to walk in now, with Kokoro following after him.

“Rantaro! Hey!” Haruto greeted.

Rantaro returned the greeting with a nod. “Morning, Haru. You sleep well?”

He shrugged. “As well as I could, I guess. Given, y’know…”

Rantaro nodded sombrely. “Yeah, I get what you mean.” He grimaced. “Neither of them deserved what happened.”

“Yeah, preaching with the choir there…”

Everyone else began to arrive in, all with similar downcast expressions due to the prior day’s events.

Aside from Jasper and Tsumugi at least. Jasper had a neutral expression and Tsumugi’s face was crossed with her usual scowl.

Rantaro grimaced, noticing the now permanent absences of Rikona and Yuuma.

Sure, he never really cared that much for Rikona, but Yuuma was his friend. Rikona just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and now both of them were mere sacrifices for Monokuma’s game.

But he couldn’t let that get in his way.

He had to end this. Somehow…

“Jeeeeez…” Tsumugi’s voice cut in. “What’s with the cruddy atmosphere?”

“Two people _died_ yesterday, Shirogane.” Rantaro snapped, shooting her a glare. “Learn some respect.”

“Respect?” She scoffed. “I only barely tolerate the idiots here. Those two annoying midgets dropping off the mortal coil is honestly a blessing.”

Rantaro growled under his breath, wanting to punch that smile off her face, but Kokoro stopped him.

“We can’t have a fight breaking out.” She whispered. “Not now.”

Rantaro grimaced and nodded reluctantly.

“I mean,” Jasper said with a shrug. “Even _I_ know to respect the recently deceased.”

“No-one asked you, asshole.” Tsumugi hissed. “You’re honestly no better, with the shit you pulled in the first case.”

“Uh, that was ages ago? I’m on your side.” He flicked his gaze off to a different direction. “…Maybe.”

“Are you, though?” Haruto questioned. “Who’s side are you even _on?_”

He smirked. “That’s for me to know and you to find out. Either way,” He shot a glare at Tsumugi. “I at least know to have basic respect for the dead.”

Tsumugi scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Whatever, dipshit.”

“Can we please not start a fight right now?” Miko pleaded. “That’s the last thing we need after everything that’s happened…”

Ayano nodded. “Miko’s right. Starting arguments isn’t a logical next step.”

“Well what do we do then?” Ahmya asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Jasper said with a shrug. “The third floor’s probably open.”

Kokoro stopped. “It is!?”

“I don’t know for sure, I didn’t check. But the second floor opened the day after the first trial, remember?”

Ayano nodded. “That’s correct…On that line of thinking, it wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary for it to happen again.”

“So what,” Sachiko started. “The fucker’s just gonna keep opening floors whenever someone dies?”

Ayano frowned. “Monokuma may be very immoral, but he at least has some form of a routine.”

“It’s a fucked up routine…”

“But it shows he at least has some semblance of rationality, small as it may be.”

“He really doesn’t.”

“Some. Keyword some.”

“Either way,” Rantaro said. “Jasper could be right. So that means Monokuma could be arriving any minute now.”

“Right you are!” Monokuma’s voice chimed in, as he revealed himself to the group.

He immediately shot an annoyed glare at Jasper. “And what did I say last time about stealing my thunder!?”

Jasper chuckled to himself. “And like _I_ said last time. Get here quicker.”

“Either way, you’re correct! The third floor of Starlight Academy is now open!”

“So that gives us an activity for today, right?” Amai asked.

Kokoro shrugged. “I guess.”

“But but but!” Monokuma continued. “You all know what a new floor means! Three new labs are now ready to unlock!”

He whipped out three objects – some kind of ball bearing on a string, some kind of stylus, and a gold key.

Amai’s eyes lit up when she saw the stylus. “Oooooohhhh! Neat!” She picked it up. “This has to be mine, right?”

“Looks like it!” Kokoro said with a nod.

“What about that metal ball?” Ahmya asked, pointing it out. “I have no idea who that could belong to.”

“Let me have a look…” Ayano said as she picked it up.

She hummed thoughtfully, swinging the ball ever so slightly from side to side with the string. “Hmm…This seems to be one of the balls from a Newton’s cradle.”

“A what?” Amai asked.

“You know those toys they have in science classrooms with the balls that flick from side to side?” Kokoro explained. “That.”

“Ohh. So does that mean your lab is up there too?”

“It’s possible-” Ayano started, before realising something. “…Wait.” She groaned. “Don’t tell me my lab opens with one of those unnecessarily complicated mechanisms too…” He brought her free hand to her head in dismay. “Uuugh…”

“Don’t focus on that.” Jasper dismissed, before turning his attention to the remaining item; the gold key. “We still need to figure out who this key is for.”

“It just looks like a simple key.” Ayano pointed out with a sigh and a shrug. “I, frankly, have no idea.”

“Mind if I take a closer look?” Rantaro asked.

Jasper shrugged. “Of course. Go ahead.”

Rantaro picked the gold key up.

The gold key was very ornate – similar to the key to Saiko’s lab – with the metal twisted in a circle at the top to look like twisting vines.

However, rather than being empty, there was something inside the space of the circle.

Something which confirmed Rantaro’s initial suspicions.

He nodded. “Yep. That’s a compass.”

“A compass?” Kokoro echoed.

“Look.” He pointed to the top of the key, where a small compass was embedded into the metal. “Right here, see?”

“Ohhhh.” Jasper said. “Cool.”

“Wait,” Kokoro started. “So does that mean that-?”

Rantaro nodded. “Yes. My Ultimate Lab is up there.”

“_Your_ Ultimate Lab?” Tsumugi scoffed and laughed. “Oh come ON! Like an asshole like YOU would have an Ultimate Lab!”

“Shut it, Shirogane. Besides, Monokuma said there was one for all of us.”

“Right you are!” Monokuma confirmed.

“See?”

Tsumugi growled under her breath and folded her arms. “Doesn’t make you any less of an asshole.”

“Yeah, no, don’t care.” Rantaro turned away from her, lightly tossing the key in his hand. “So what, should we just start heading up there?”

“Not so fast!” Monokuma answered. “There are two new rooms for me to show you!”

“Are there?” Amai asked.

“Of course! The labs on their own would be a pretty cruddy excuse for a new floor, wouldn’t they?”

Ayano hummed thoughtfully and nodded. “True.”

“So what,” Haruto asked. “You gonna take us like you did last time?”

“Of course!” Monokuma said with a smile. “Anything for my dear students!”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “We don’t want to go on a tour with you.”

“Well too bad! I’m taking you anyway! Upupu!” Monokuma chuckled and turned around. “Follow me, class!”

Rantaro groaned and put his free hand to his head in irritation, before he – and the rest of the group – reluctantly followed Monokuma up to the new floor.

The group eventually got to the second floor, and reached an ornate pair of doors.

“I admit, this isn’t as interesting as the next room,” Monokuma quipped as he pushed them open. “But I’ll just have to show you anyway! Upupu!”

The room that awaited them was an exquisite yet empty ballroom, almost feeling a lot bigger on the inside from when Monokuma opened the door. The floor was almost reflective with how much it shined, and the crown jewel was definitely the giant chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

It took practically everyone’s breaths away.

“This…Is…” Haruto’s eyes lit up. “AMAZING…!”

“This is quite exquisite,” Ayano noted. “But I don’t see the point of the academy having a room like this.”

“Eh, it was mainly used for private functions and events n’ stuff.” Monokuma listed. “There aren’t any of those happening anytime soon, but I figured I should let my dear students see it! Doesn’t it make you wanna cry~?”

“No.” Tsumugi scoffed. “Ballrooms aren’t my thing.”

“Aw, boo. You’re no fun. But there IS something about this room that might perk ya up!”

Rantaro stopped. “Huh?”

“Upupu! That’s right! _This ballroom has a secret!_”

“A secret?” Jasper echoed. “And I presume you won’t be telling us what it is, correct?”

“You got it! After all, it ain’t much of a secret if I tell everyone, huh?”

Rantaro frowned uneasily. He wasn’t sure if whatever this secret of the ballroom was was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Anyway,” Monokuma clapped his paws together. “That’s all there is to see here!” He started strutting out the door. “On to the next room, everyone!”

“Aw, really?” Haruto said with a tinge of disappointment. “But we practically just got here!”

“We can go back later, Haru.” Rantaro reassured. “We still need to find whatever this secret is anyway.”

He nodded. “Okay, got it.”

Everyone followed Monokuma to another room, the door being a lot more modern, yet somehow imposing.

“See this room?” He said with a smirk. “This is WAAAAY better than the last one~!”

He pushed the door open.

What was inside made Rantaro’s breath hitch.

The room was filled with shelves of various bottles and jars, with the shelves being unevenly divided.

The shelves with the majority had a large sign above it which read “TOXIC”.

“Welcome, my students!” Monokuma continued with his usual cheer. “To Starlight Academy’s very own _chemicals lab!_”

“A chemicals lab?” Ayano repeated. “This may be somewhat useful…”

“And of course there are more poisonous ones than non-poisonous ones…” Ahmya said with a grimace.

Jasper was already going through the selection on the poisons shelf, like a student leafing through a bookshelf in the library, reading off the various labels as he went through each bottle he found.

“Beryllium, strychnine, belladonna, cyanide, arsenic…” He turned back around, impressed. “Even some tranquillising and paralysing agents. And even stuff to delay a poison’s effect. You certainly didn’t slouch, Monokuma.”

“Upupu!” Monokuma chuckled. “Anything for my dear students!”

Rantaro frowned. “Well someone’s enjoying this…”

“Tch, who said I was enjoying it?” Jasper pouted and put his hand on his hip. “I was just seeing what to make of Monokuma’s collection.”

“Calling it a collection doesn’t help.”

“Welp!” Monokuma chimed in. “Alls well that ends well, huh?”

“What, so you’re leaving again?” Sachiko questioned.

“I showed ya what I needed to show ya, right? Now all you need to do is find your labs! So long, bear well! Upupu!”

With that the bear vanished.

Sachiko sighed. “Fuckin’ finally…Stupid bear was getting on my nerves…”

“Couldn’t agree with you more.” Ahmya said with a nod.

“Either way, I think we’re done here.” Miko said. “Our next move should be to try and find the three Ultimate Labs, correct?”

“Of course.” Ayano agreed. “It’s the main reason we wished to come to this floor.”

“I thought that was because Monokuma took us here…?” A confused Amai said.

“…Yes, that too. Either way it’s done now, so we should start heading to the labs. Are we all in agreement?”

Everyone seemed to agree.

Ayano nodded with a slight smile. “So it’s decided.”

“Are you looking forward to seeing your Ultimate Lab, Ayano?” Miko asked.

She giggled a little in response. “I can’t exactly say I’m not.”

Thankfully, Ayano’s lab was evidently the first one the group stumbled across.

Similar to Ahmya and Miko’s labs before it, it seemed to open with a mechanism; as a Newton’s cradle, albeit with one of the balls missing, was waiting for them on a plinth.

Ayano swung her key from it’s string with a sigh. “The only detractor it seems is that my lab opens with one of those inefficient mechanisms…”

“Yeah, you said that, like, twice already last time.” Jasper quipped with a raised eyebrow.

Ayano shot him a look, before shrugging and walking over to the plinth. “Best get this over with…”

She tied her key – the missing ball – to the end of the Newton’s cradle, before bringing it back and letting go. This set the cradle off and after a few ticks, the plinth was lowered into the ground and the wall opened up to reveal a door.

The door was neat and simple, not too different from a door to a classroom or lab.

Ayano seemed to be relieved at this. She pushed the door open.

The room that awaited them was some sort of mix of a classroom and a physics lab. There was a whiteboard at the back of the room with a pen and eraser. There was a shelf at one side of the room with various textbooks on various topics, and on the other side were a pair of deep lab sinks and a counter. There were various desks around the room, with equipment for different experiments already set up.

Ayano’s eyes lit up a little and she smiled.

“Ah…” She said. “Now this is something I’m more used to.”

“Really?” Amai asked. “This kinda just looks like a classroom…”

“Quite similar to the classrooms at my old school, I might add. Quite a refreshing change of pace if you ask me.”

Miko turned his attention to the almost overcrowded bookshelves.

“There are so many…” He mused as he flicked through the different titles. “Just how many different topics are there?”

“Too many to count, really.” Ayano answered. “Physics is a fundamental science that governs our way of living. Since our lives are constantly changing, it constantly changes as well. Unfortunately, we can’t really document all of it in this day and age.”

It didn’t look like Miko understood a word of what Ayano said, but he listened anyway. “…Right.”

“This stuff sounds way too complicated for me…” Kokoro said. “How did you end up studying this stuff anyway?”

Ayano seemed to stiffen a little at the question, but she smiled calmly and answered.

“Physics is a logical science. I am very interested in these things due to my logical and rational way of thinking.” Her smile faded ever so slightly. “But I also do it to make my parents happy.”

“Oh, are your parents physicists too?” Rantaro asked.

“No, but I try to impress them by excelling in an acedemic field. That’s what a parent wants for their child, right?”

Amai shrugged. “I guess.”

Miko was confused when Ayano started talking about her parents, but he almost looked kind of…Jealous?

“But that’s not important.” She dismissed. “What’s important is that I finally have somewhere I can work!” Her smile turned to an irritated grimace. “Now if only they installed a coffee machine here…”

“Wha- no!” Miko stammered. “Don’t you remember what I said about too much caffeine not being good for your health!?”

Ayano gave him a deadpan look. “It helps me study. And you don’t even _drink_ coffee.”

“Guys, can we not start an argument here?” Haruto cut in.

Ayano raised an eyebrow. “We’re not having one.”

“Either way, we still got two more labs to find.” Rantaro said, holding his key up as a reminder. “So you coming?”

“Hmmm…No thanks. I wish to explore the capabilities of my lab.”

He shrugged, indifferent. “That makes sense. So shall we-”

“Do you mind if I stay too?” Miko asked.

Rantaro stopped. “Huh?”

Miko started to make a response, but stopped himself; putting his fist to his mouth and looking away, an ever so slight blush appearing on his face.

Rantaro immediately realised what this meant.

He wanted to be alone with Ayano.

He smirked. _Totally called it._

“Okay that’s fine.” He turned around and started heading for the door. “Now here’s hoping we find the next lab soon…”

It didn’t take them too long to find the next lab.

The door was a sleek and modern black, with neon pink edging. To hammer home the fact that this was obviously the Ultimate Digital Artist’s lab, a tablet had been embedded in the door with a holder for a stylus next to it, but screen had a half-finished drawing of Monokuma’s face on it; his jagged eye and crooked smile were missing.

“This looks like mine!” Amai said with a grin. “Now how do I unlock it?”

“Hmm…” Rantaro took a closer look at the tablet. “Well that drawing of Monokuma isn’t finished, see? I think you need to finish it.”

“Ohhhh. Okay!”

Amai strolled over to the screen, whipped out her key – with a twirl for extra flourish – and finished the drawing.

…Only for a “wrong answer” jingle to play.

“Huuuuuh!?!? But I got it right!”

“Uh…” Ahmya said. “You just drew the same as the left side.”

“…Oooooooooohh.”

She corrected it and put the key in the stylus holder.

A “right answer” jingle played; the tablet and key slid away out of sight and a click sounded from the door, signifying it had been unlocked.

“…That means it’s unlocked, right?” Amai asked.

“Yeah, I think.” Kokoro said.

“O-kay!” She tried the door, which opened.

The room was a modern looking art studio – painted black with neon pink accents and a magenta rug, the walls also being decorated with neon pink graffiti of hearts, stars and smiley faces with devil horns. There was a blank backdrop set in the middle of the room with a poseable mannequin for referencing poses during drawing, and a high quality printer at the side of the room. In front of the set was a desk and a comfortable desk chair, both with colours to match the aesthetics of the room.

“This is awesome!!!” Amai squealed, running over to the desk.

“Whoa…” Kokoro mused as she looked around. “There’s so much stuff in here!”

“I…” Ahmya started. “Still don’t understand what the mannequin is for.”

“Eh, posing is difficult.” Amai said with a shrug. She fished her own tablet and stylus out of her hoodie pocket. “Oooh, the indent on the desk is a perfect fit for my tablet!”

“Jeez, I see what Monokuma meant by tailor-made…” Rantaro muttered. “It’s just my one that’s left. I assume you’re gonna be staying in here?”

“All this awesome stuff has just hit me with a super-wave of inspiration! I gotta ride it!” Amai practically jumped onto the desk chair and, after spinning around a few times, immediately got to work. “Hey Kokoro, you gonna ride with me?”

“In a minute!” Kokoro replied. “Is it okay if I go see Rantaro’s lab first?”

“Mmm…Yeah! See you in a minute!” She turned back to her tablet.

“So it’s decided.” Rantaro said with a nod. “Have fun with that.” He turned to the door and walked out.

The last door they found was a dark mahogany with a gold frame and details. A decal of a compass had been engraved into the door.

This was without a doubt the Ultimate Adventurer’s lab.

Rantaro frowned a little.

The door almost kind of looked like the door to some kind of work office.

hat fact was giving him unwanted deja-vu.

He turned the key over in his hand uneasily.

“What are you waiting for, dumbass?” Tsumugi cut in. “We’re here, let’s get this over with. Open the damn door.”

He shot her a glare. “Shut up.”

“Ignore her.” Haruto brushed her off.

“Do you reckon your lab’s gonna be interesting?” Kokoro asked. “Are you looking forward to seeing it?”

Rantaro didn’t reply. He just put the key in the door and unlocked it.

The room that greeted them was, fitting Rantaro’s suspicions, almost like an office of some kind.

The shelves in the room had a mix of books and different artefacts and souvenirs from different countries (some of which including pieces of jewellery such as rings, necklaces and earrings from different countries), and framed pictures of landmarks and foreign countries were hung across the walls. The furthest back wall was the home of a large world map, with different pins indicating areas that had been visited.

Which also just happened to be areas that he had been searching, which Rantaro noted with a slight grimace.

There was a familiar mahogany desk at the room, complete with cartographers tools, an inkwell and pen, and a spinning globe, as well as a matching comfortable desk chair.

Rantaro’s breath hitched a little.

The room was nice. But now it was giving him even more unwanted deja-vu than ever.

The others didn’t seem to notice.

“Whoooaaa!” Kokoro said. “This room looks so cool!”

“It does-? O-oh, yeah.” Rantaro stammered before regaining his footing. “It does, doesn’t it?”

“Is that all the places you’ve been?” Haruto asked, pointing out the pins on the map.

Rantaro laughed awkwardly and put his hand behind his head. “I guess you could say that…”

“The collection over here’s interesting.” Ahmya said as she looked over the different artefacts and souvenirs. “Do you usually take stuff back with you?”

“Not all the time, but I do like bringing things back for my family.”

She smiled a little. “That’s nice.”

“The jewellery you can get is also pretty cool though.”

She shrugged. “That’s fair.”

“Jeeeez…” Tsumugi said with an eye roll. “You guys are actually interested?”

“Uh, yeah?” Haruto said with a raised eyebrow. “It’s called being polite.”

“You should try it sometime.” Sachiko seconded with a glare.

Tsumugi flinched back a bit, before growling and turning with her heel. “Whatever. I’m leaving.”

Rantaro smirked as she walked off. “Good riddance.”

“Indeed. Anyway,” Ahmya agreed, also starting off towards the door. “I’m probably gonna head down to my lab.” She gave him a smile. “Nice talk.”

Rantaro smiled back. “Yeah, nice talk.”

Sachiko shrugged. “Yeah, your lab’s neat I guess.” She also started to leave. “But fuck, this whole new floor shit has gone on for too long…I need a drink.”

“Mind if I join you?” Haruto asked.

Sachiko stopped, and sighed. “You do what you want.”

As the two left, Kokoro turned over to Rantaro, concerned.

“Is something wrong?”

“Huh? Why would there be?”

Kokoro raised an eyebrow. “Rantaro, we both should know by now that I can tell if something’s wrong.”

He sighed. “…Good point…”

“So what’s up? Is something wrong with the lab, or-?”

“I don’t really want to talk about it right now. We’ll talk later.”

Kokoro stopped. “Huh? But-”

“We’ll talk about it later, Kokoro. You need to go back to Amai, right?”

She didn’t reply for a bit.

Eventually she sighed. “Alright, yeah…” She gave him a smile. “See you soon, ‘kay?”

Rantaro smiled back. “Yeah. See you soon.”

Kokoro left, so Rantaro sat down in the chair and turned around to face the map.

Just as he had suspected before, the pins were all in the different places he had been searching for his sisters.

He frowned.

These labs were tailor-made for each student. Of course Monokuma would find some way to remind him about that again.

Was the fact that the room reminded him of his father’s office because of him too?

He sighed.

It was at this point that he realised that he wasn’t alone.

“…Jasper, you can leave now.”

Jasper shrugged. “Why should I?”

Rantaro turned the chair around to face him. “Don’t you have better things to do?”

“Well I don’t have an Ultimate Lab or anything better to do, so…No.”

Rantaro sighed. “Then why are you here?”

Jasper smirked, taking a cross-legged seat on the empty space on the desk.

“Is it so wrong to wish to talk to a friend, Ran-Ran?”

Rantaro pushed his chair back a little, intimidated by Jasper being so close to him and the insistence on using the annoying nickname.

“…Can I really call you my friend though?”

“Please. The first trial was ages ago. And didn’t I help you last time? I’m on your side, remember?”

“Might be. You might be on my side.”

“Oh, same difference. So?”

Rantaro grimaced and narrowed his eyes, before taking a deep breath.

“…Alright, fine. Why did you run away from home?”

Jasper stopped, as if surprised by Rantaro’s response. “…What?”

“You wanted to talk, so we’ll talk. Why did you run away from home?”

“What makes you think that I ran away?”

“What you said before, remember? You said that you left home during high school and never stayed in one place, but your parents never went with you. There has to have been a reason for that, no? So why did you run away from home?”

Jasper’s eyes narrowed. “…Why do you _think_ I did?”

Rantaro stopped. “…What?”

“Okay, I’m not even going to bother sidestepping this. My family _sucked._ I left home to cut all ties.”

“To cut all ties with them? So they-”

“Were abusive? Yes. I mean, if they didn’t like me, they shouldn’t have had me, right?” He grimaced. “They’re probably just jealous since my cousin got famous off of some TV show…”

“Wait, they what?”

“Hm?”

“You just said that your cousin did-”

“What do you mean? I never said anything about having a cousin.”

Rantaro stopped. “…Jasper, this isn’t the time for your games-”

“Anyway, they had a lot of pent-up aggression and I just happened to be the perfect person to take it out on. Despite being an only child, the fact that I was the very obvious black sheep also helped.”

“How so?”

Jasper gestured to his face, as if pointing out his skin tone. “What, you thought this was body paint or something?”

“…You’re telling me THAT’S your natural skin colour!?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re telling me that’s your natural hair colour?”

“…Touché. And it is.”

“Same here. Apparently caused by some insanely rare birth defect or something. And because of it I wasn’t ‘perfect’ enough to fit society’s standards.”

“So what, your parents didn’t like you because of that?”

“It certainly helped. Even after I was forced to dye my hair black, wear red contacts and use makeup to cover my skin colour they still decided I wasn’t good enough or something. So I left. Does that answer your question?”

Rantaro stopped. He couldn’t help but admit he wasn’t expecting that to be the response.

“…Well…Yes, but…Why are you telling me this?”

Jasper opened one eye. “Hm?”

“Well, you’re so secretive about everything. Hell, you’re not even telling anyone your talent.”

“Still not telling you.”

“Exactly! So why did you tell me this?”

Jasper smirked and chuckled a little to himself. “Quite simple, really. I could tell we had something in common.”

“…Something in common? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“After everything I said, isn’t it already clear?”

His expression turned serious and his eyes gained an intimidating glow.

“_Both of our families hate us, don’t they?_”

Rantaro froze.

_W…What!?_

Jasper’s expression snapped back to his previous smile.

“You don’t have to say anything. I can tell these things.”

Rantaro frowned uneasily.

His sisters hopefully didn’t hate him, but Kenshiro…

…

How the hell could Jasper tell this? Sure he’s been in that kind of situation, but that’s not the kind of thing you could tell by looking at someone, right?

“So?” Jasper said, changing the subject. “Is there anything else you wish to talk about?”

“Um…Well…” Rantaro started. “Remember what you said about that arsonist last time?”

“What, about how the serial arsonist Monochrome Spark could have something to do with this killing game?”

“Yeah, that. Any more ideas on that?”

“Hmm…” Jasper put a finger to his chin. “I’m not so sure if that’s the case anymore…”

“What? How come?”

“The main reason I thought of it is both their modus operandi, and that Saiko’s execution had a theme around fire. Remember?”

Rantaro grimaced. “I’d rather not remember, thanks…”

“But Rikona’s execution didn’t have that theming at all, so now I’m unsure.”

“So what, because of that Monochrome Spark has nothing to do with this at all?”

“I’m not sure. They could still have some kind of role in this killing game, but I’m not so sure that they’re behind this. After all, it doesn’t seem that befitting of a serial arsonist to capture a number of Ultimate Students just to lock them in the academy and make them kill each other.”

“True…But then why are we in this killing game?”

Jasper’s expression turned serious again.

“_Do you really want to know?_”

Rantaro stopped. “What?”

“The reason why we’re trapped here. Do you really wish to find out?”

“Wh- of COURSE I want to know!” He leapt up from the chair. “We have to be here for SOME reason, right?”

“Yes…” Jasper also got off the desk and stood in front of him. “But do you really want to know what that reason is?”

Rantaro grimaced. “What the hell kind of question is that-”

Jasper took a step forward, forcing Rantaro to take a step back.

His eyes widened. “Jasper, what’re you-!?”

“To think,” Jasper continued as he kept taking steps forward. “That someone can be depraved enough to set up a game like this amongst Ultimate Students. The stability of their mental state is already debatable from that fact alone. But why would they set this up?”

Rantaro took a few uneasy steps back. “Jasper, you’re getting too close-”

He ignored him. “Do they have something against Ultimate Students in general, or do they have something against us specifically? Or perhaps one of us has wronged them in some way, but then why would they give the rest of us the same punishment? And who could possibly be mentally depraved enough to set up something like this in the first place?”

He had walked forward enough to force Rantaro to back against the wall.

“So with that…”

Jasper lightly pinned Rantaro to the wall with his hand.

“_**Do you really want to know why we’re here?**_”

Rantaro couldn’t say anything.

The stifling silence as well as Jasper being this close had forced him to keep his mouth shut.

And besides…He couldn’t find a good answer to the question.

His first thought was that they had to, but…Was that really good enough?

Did Jasper have a point?

He stopped, finally realising what to say.

“…Jasper…_Do you __**know**__ why we’re here?_”

Jasper didn’t reply.

The two’s eyes remained locked for a few silent seconds.

Rantaro took a deep shaky breath and started to repeat his question.

“Jasper-”

DING-DONG-DONG-DING!

The two of them stopped and turned their heads to the direction of the door.

“This is a school announcement. It is now 10pm, which means it is officially nighttime! Upupu...See you tomorrow!”

“Jeez…” Jasper sighed, releasing Rantaro from the wall. “It’s nighttime already?” He started to walk away. “Well, it was nice talking to you.”

Rantaro couldn’t say anything, but then remembered what he was trying to say.

“Jasper, hold on! Do you know why we’re here or not!?”

Jasper turned back around.

“What kind of question is that? How should I know?”

Rantaro grimaced. “…And how do you expect me to believe you?”

He smirked. “You can choose whether you want to believe me or not. But don’t expect to get the reason anytime soon.” His expression turned serious again. “But think about what I just asked you. Got it?”

Rantaro stopped. “I-”

“Good.” He waved and walked off. “See you in the morning, my dear.”

Rantaro didn’t leave right away.

He was still trying to take in his strange conversation with Jasper.

Calling Jasper impossible to read was an understatement.

But if what he said about his family was true…

…

Rantaro frowned.

He can’t be feeling sympathy towards someone like Jasper.

He sighed and walked out of his lab, turning out the lights and closing the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now chapter 3 has begun!  
With a lil bit of Jasper character development uwu  
But thanks for reading until the end! <3  
As for what's coming next...  
...  
I can't say much aside from "brace yourselves".
> 
> If you have any theories, please leave them in the comments!


	20. New Code

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another day has passed, but Rantaro has a theory on the circumstances of this killing game.  
But whether he's right or not...  
...He's going to have to act quickly.

DING-DONG-DONG-DING!

“Goooood morning, students! It is now 8am, which means it’s time to rise and shine! So get up and seize the day! Upupu!”

Rantaro groaned.

He still hated Monokuma’s insistence on the loud morning announcement, but he forced himself awake anyway.

He didn’t have much luck sleeping either. He didn’t recall anything specific, but faint images of Emilia flickered across his mind like a faulty lightbulb. And the reminder of her alone was enough to keep him from getting the 7 hours he needed.

Rantaro was tempted to crawl back into bed and lie down for an hour, but Kokoro or Haruto would probably get worried, or worse, Jasper would somehow find a way to unlock the door.

He sighed.

He’s gonna need _two_ cups of coffee this morning.

Rantaro pulled himself out of bed and, after attempting to make himself look less tired, left and started heading downstairs.

This reminded him. What was he going to do today?

Well, Monokuma is likely going to announce the motive soon whether he likes it or not, so he’s really just going to have to buy time until then. But how?

The obvious option was going up to his lab. It had plenty of interesting things, but some not so sweet reminders of other things.

He grimaced a little at that thought. Of course Monokuma would make his lab specifically to remind him of _that._

Was this because he was able to find out Saiko and Rikona as the killers of the past few trials? Did Monokuma have a grudge on him or something because of that?

Or was it someone…?

…

Rantaro sighed and shook his head.

This was too much to be thinking about this early in the morning.

He arrived in the kitchen, noticing Ahmya was there as well.

“Ah.” She greeted. “Morning.”

“Good morning.” Rantaro returned the greeting before gesturing to the kettle. “I’m just gonna make myself some coffee. Do you want some?”

“Nah, it’s fine.” She gestured to a cup on a nearby counter. “I’ve already made myself some.”

“Alright.” Rantaro got himself a cup with some coffee and flicked the kettle on.

“So what’s happening in the mind of Rantaro Amami today?” Ahmya quipped.

“If you’re asking me how I’m doing, I don’t know.” Rantaro answered. “I mean I know the trial was two days ago, but…”

She hummed quietly. “Yeah, I get that. Neither of them should have died.”

“_Nobody_ should have died.” He added as the kettle finished boiling (as Ahmya had used it recently it took a lot less time than usual), prompting him to add water to his cup.

“Yeah, but Sachiko’s right remember? Crying isn’t gonna solve anything.”

Rantaro nodded as he added cream and sugar to his coffee. “I get that. It’s just the question of what the hell we’re gonna do now.”

“…That _is_ a good question.”

“Yeah, exactly.” He took a sip of his coffee. “What about you? How have you been holding up?”

She shrugged. “Same as you I guess. Stuff has been hard lately.”

“Preaching with the choir there…”

“Hey! Rantaro!”

“Huh?” Rantaro turned around to see that Haruto was walking over.

“Oh, hey Haru-”

He stopped when he noticed that Sachiko was also with him, and making a point of deliberately avoiding eye contact with Rantaro when the two of them arrived.

“Oh. Hey, Sachiko.” Rantaro greeted.

“…Hey.” She replied.

“Oh, I see you’re already making new friends?” Ahmya quipped.

Sachiko shot her a glare. “Say that again and I’ll break your teeth.”

Ahmya smirked. “Worth it.”

Rantaro sighed and took a sip of his coffee. “So how are things on your end?”

“Alright, I guess.” Haruto replied. “Things are still kinda messed up after everything with Yuuma and Rikona, but that’s to be expected I guess…”

“I mean, their deaths weren’t that long ago.” Sachiko agreed. “Makes sense that you still feel sad about it.”

“I guess so.”

She turned her gaze to the ground. “Mm-hm…”

_It doesn’t look like Sachiko is very experienced with small talk…_ Rantaro thought.

“But yeah, we were just saying earlier.” Ahmya said. “The main question now is ‘now what?’”

“How’d you expect any of us to know that?” Sachiko questioned.

“Yeah, exactly!”

“I mean, Monokuma’s gonna be releasing a new motive sooner or later, right?” Rantaro pointed out.

“How can you be sure about that?” Sachiko asked.

“Well, it’s like Ayano said yesterday. He kinda has a routine.”

“Yeah, with after the trials.” Haruto added. “After the past two trials, he’s opened a new floor and given us three lab keys.”

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah, that’s right. But it’s not just that. It extends _beyond_ that.”

Haruto’s eyes widened a little. “What? It does?”

“Think about it.” Rantaro explained. “He starts by opening a floor and giving us three lab keys. Then he gives us a bit to lull us into a false sense of security, then he gives us a motive. He waits for someone to die, lets us investigate, sets up the trial, and executes the killer. Then right after that, he goes right back to the beginning again.” He looked up to the others. “It’s been the same both times.”

“Huh…I guess it really has…”

“So what?” Sachiko questioned. “That just proves Ayano’s point.”

Rantaro hummed thoughtfully. “I don’t know…Something seems weird about this…”

“What do you mean?” Ahmya asked as she took a sip of her coffee.

This action made Rantaro remember that he also had coffee to drink, and took a quick sip of his own.

While he did, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

Something that kind of-

No, _really_ unsettled him.

Even though he was pretty far away from them, Jasper had evidently arrived In the dining hall not long after Haruto and Sachiko did.

And he was looking directly at him.

Not just the group. _Rantaro specifically._

Rantaro grimaced a little.

_Is he…Listening in on us…?_

_Is he listening in on **me!?**_

“Uh…?” Ahmya started. “Still haven’t answered my question.”

“Huh? O-oh.” Rantaro quickly drained the remainder of his mug and set it down with an awkward chuckle. “Sorry, I just spaced out for a second.”

Ahmya laughed a little. “No problem, I get what you mean. Now what seems weird about this whole routine thing?”

“Well, the fact that Monokuma has a routine at all, really. That seems odd to me.”

“Why would it?” Haruto asked with a shrug. “It just means he has scarily good planning skills.”

“I don’t know…” Rantaro said, internally scratching the inside of his skull for the answer that was lying on the tip of his tongue.

He finally started to put it together.

“…I mean…” He started. “_Why bother getting into a routine for something you’re only gonna do once…?_”

The other three visibly jolted in surprise at this.

Jasper, still very evidently listening in on them, blinked a few times and leaned in a little closer, his eyes narrowing in interest.

“Rantaro, what the hell are you saying!?” Haruto exclaimed.

“Think about it.” Rantaro said. “A hell of a lot of planning would have gone into something of this scale. They would have had to put Starlight Academy on lockdown, set up everything for the motives and executions, and figured out how get us here. But Monokuma’s already got a routine for this…”

The realisation hit him like a speeding truck.

“…Almost like…He’s _used to this._”

Despite the distance, Rantaro could see a menacing smile creep across Jasper’s face.

“Wait…” Sachiko started. “Are you _seriously_ suggesting that…!?”

Rantaro slowly nodded.

“_This isn’t the first killing game._”

The room was left in an uneasy silence.

Rantaro once again made direct eye contact with Jasper.

Jasper chuckled to himself, then smiled with a nod as if to say “good job”.

With that, he spun around and nonchalantly left.

Rantaro frowned a little.

_So he really was listening after all…_

…_Could this be what he meant last night?_

_Possibly…But-_

“Okay, I’m going to have to stop you right there.”

Rantaro’s train of thought completely derailed from Jasper as he turned back to Ahmya. “Huh?”

She shrugged. “I’m sorry, but this is completely crazy.”

“But…How!? It’s the only way Monokuma could have gotten so used to this!”

“Robot bear, remember? I’m definitely no programming expert, but this routine had probably been pre-programmed into his code.”

Rantaro’s mood deflated a little. “…Oh. I…Guess you’re right…”

“…No, I think he’s on the right track.”

“Huh?” Rantaro turned to Sachiko.

“You heard me.” She said. “This ‘not the first killing game’ thing probably ain’t so far off after all.”

“But hold on,” Haruto started. “If this isn’t the first time something like this has happened, why aren’t the police or something already on the case? I mean, if a killing game’s happened before, the authorities would’ve figured what was up when Ultimate Students started going missing.”

Sachiko shrugged. “I dunno. I just don’t think he’s that far off. That’s all.”

Haruto hummed thoughtfully. “…Yeah, I get what you mean. But…Something like this having already happened…It just seems crazy…!”

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah, I know. It seemed crazy when I thought about it. But…Something’s telling me that that’s what’s going on here…”

“So what, you’re basing this all on a gut feeling?” Ahmya asked.

“I know it’s insane, but this gut feeling is all I have.”

“Hm. Impulsive.” She smirked. “I like that.”

“Uh…Thanks…?”

“Well it’s good that you found out about it,” Haruto started. “But we’re really not the right people to be talking to about this.”

“Hey-!” Ahmya started to counter, but stopped. “No wait, I see your point.”

“What makes you say that?” Rantaro asked.

“Well, this whole thing just seems crazy to me. Maybe talk to someone who sees it, as…I dunno.” She shrugged. “Less crazy.”

“Like…Who?”

“Ayano?” Sachiko suggested. “She was the one who came up with the routine thing in the first place.”

“Yeah, that’s a good shout.” Haruto agreed. “It’ll probably be better for you to talk about this with her. I mean,” He dryly chuckled. “She’s a _lot_ smarter than me, that’s for starters…”

Sachiko smirked a little. “No-one’s disputing that.”

“Alright, so that’s what I’ll do now.” Rantaro said. “I’ll have to find Ayano. She’ll be in her lab, right?”

Ahmya shrugged. “I think so.”

“Okay.” Rantaro nodded. “Wish me luck.”

Haruto smiled and offered a high-five. “See you on the other side, Rantaro.”

Rantaro smiled back and high-fived him. “Yeah. See you soon, Haru.”

It didn’t take too long for Rantaro to arrive on the second floor. If he was right, it hopefully wouldn’t take too long for him to find Ayano either.

On the way, he heard some noise coming from Amai’s lab, and stopped to see what was going on.

The door had been left open, so he could see a number of her artworks had been printed and were hanging on the wall, showing proof of her talent.

Her and Kokoro were inside. Amai was drawing something on her tablet, and the two were chatting together and laughing.

Rantaro smiled softly.

Kokoro never really had that much opportunity to hang out with Amai, and he was glad she was getting that time now.

He decided it would be best to not bother them and continued walking to Ayano’s lab.

When he got there, he heard two voices from inside.

Her and Miko. He evidently had gotten there first.

“Were they…Really like that?” Miko shakily asked.

“They were.” Ayano answered. “I did all this work and studying to make them happy, but they couldn’t even bother looking in my direction.”

Rantaro froze and backed up.

_Is she…Talking about her parents…?_

“I’m…” Miko started. “Sorry to hear that…”

“There’s no need for you to apologise. Either way, there’s no need for you to envy me.”

Miko frowned a little and turned his gaze to the ground.

“You did know them for a little bit, right?” Ayano asked, tilting her head.

“Not for very long…I was about eight or nine when-” He stopped himself and looked away nervously.

“Now now, there’s no need for you to tell me what happened.” Ayano reassured. “But what were they like?”

Miko stopped, surprised by Ayano’s response. Then he half-smiled warmly.

“They were all I could ever ask for, really…My father was an artist, he enjoyed painting and calligraphy especially. And even though my mother was often away on travels, it was always nice to spend time with her…”

“I recall you saying she collected tea leaves as a hobby, correct?”

“Y-yes, that’s right! She often brought them back on her travels!”

Ayano giggled to herself. “She seems quite interesting…”

Miko smiled a little, but it soon faded.

Ayano realised she had evidently touched a nerve and swiftly changed the subject.

“Is that why you put your uncle on such high a pedestal?”

“Huh?”

“You lived with your uncle ever since this…Let’s say, ‘incident’ regarding your parents, correct?”

Miko shakily nodded.

“I assume he filled the void your parents left behind. Is that right?”

“Yes…He’s the reason I’m able to forge blades, but it’s so much more than that. Even though I couldn’t be with my parents anymore, he was there for me…I couldn’t thank him enough for it…”

Ayano smiled warmly. “He sounds like such a nice person. I’d love to meet him one day.”

“Oh!” His eyes lit up. “Maybe when we get out of this place, I could introduce you!”

Ayano chuckled dryly to herself. “Maybe one day.”

Miko smiled. “I’m sure he’d love to meet you.”

“Yeah, hopefully.”

Rantaro, still listening from the other side of the door, smiled to himself.

_Yep. Totally called it._

“I feel I should take my leave now.” He heard Miko say.

Rantaro stopped. _Crap._

The Ultimate Bladesmith bowed his head respectfully. “It was nice talking with you, Ayano.”

Ayano smiled. “It was nice talking with you, too.”

Miko turned around and started heading for the door.

_CRAP._

Rantaro quickly darted for the nearest corner to hide behind.

Despite the fact that his panicked and skittery footsteps should have alerted Miko that someone was there, he thankfully didn’t notice him as he left and walked off.

Rantaro breathed a sigh of relief, before taking the time to process everything he just overheard.

_So going by what I heard…It sounds like Ayano’s parents weren’t exactly favourable either._

_So what, she kept trying to impress them with her work and study, but they never paid attention?_

…_It probably explains her lack of a sleeping schedule too…She was probably staying up and studying for hours to get where she is now, but her parents didn’t even care…_

_That’s…Awful…_

_As for Miko, this confirms that he did spend part of his life with his parents, but something happened to them and his uncle took him in._

_And he said something about not being able to be with them anymore…_

…_Did they…Die…?_

…

_I shouldn’t focus on that now. Sure I couldn’t help myself, but it was bad of me to listen in on them._

…_Wait, what was I doing here again? _

_Oh, right. Ayano._

Rantaro made his way back to Ayano’s lab and knocked on the door.

“Huh…?” Ayano asked from inside. “Miko, are you back already?”

“Uh, no.” Rantaro replied. “It’s Rantaro. I need to talk to you about something.”

Her tone audibly deflated.

“…Oh. Come in, then.”

Rantaro opened the door and walked in.

Ayano had evidently started setting up an experiment of some variety on one of the desks in the time between Miko leaving and Rantaro coming in. A book she was reading from had been set up next to it and a number of calculations were already written on the board.

_Damn. She’s a quick worker, that’s for sure._

“So?” Ayano asked.

“Hm?”

“You said you needed to talk to me. What is it?”

“Oh, right.”

Rantaro proceeded to explain what he thought of earlier; about how Monokuma seems too used to this scenario, and how this likely isn’t the first killing game.

“More than one killing game…?” Ayano mused.

“Yeah. That’s what I thought of, at least.” Rantaro replied. “I mean why else would Monokuma have come up with a routine for this?”

“Hmmm…I guess that theory does seem plausible…”

“Well, there are a few problems with it, I admit. First off, the routine could’ve been programmed into his code by whatever created him.”

Ayano shook her head. “I’m not so sure.”

“What? How come?”

“Monokuma seems too far complex to just be a machine following instructions. He is chaotic and unreasonable, and even seems to make his own decisions at times. Remember, he chose to give Yuuma that knife with the knowledge that it would trigger a death.”

“What, you mean he knew a murder would happen in advance?”

“Most likely. A simple code process wouldn’t be able to make that choice. My current theory…” Ayano turned around and wrote some more calculations on the board – whether it was to do with the discussion at hand or the experiment she had set up, Rantaro was unsure. “Is that he’s some kind of complex AI.”

“An artificial intelligence? Isn’t that WAY too difficult to make!?”

“Whatever’s behind this certainly had the resources to create those barbaric executions, so an AI wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary.”

“…Fair point. So what, you think Monokuma learned this routine over time or something?”

“Precisely. And that more than proves your multiple killing games theory.”

Rantaro hummed thoughtfully. Ayano had a point, but he still wasn’t sure.

“Well, if killing games happened before, why don’t we remember anything about them?”

Ayano stopped writing and hummed quietly.

“…That’s quite a good point…”

“Yeah, exactly! Something on this kind of scale can’t have just been brushed under the rug! That blows this theory out of the water completely if you ask me!”

“Hmmm…”

Before Ayano could say anything else, the door behind them opened, prompting them both to turn around.

Kokoro walked in and waved with a smile. “Hello!”

“Oh. Hey.” Rantaro greeted. “What are…You doing here…?”

“I was wondering where you were, and Jasper said you might be here.”

_So he really was listening to me after all…_ Rantaro thought, unnerved.

“We’re in the middle of a discussion right now.” Ayano said bluntly.

“I’ll talk to you in a minute.” Rantaro said.

“Oh. Okay!” Kokoro replied.

It didn’t take long for her to notice the experiment set up on the desk.

“Ooooh, what’s this-?” She asked, walking over.

“Don’t touch that.” Ayano cut her off.

“Oh.”

“Anyway,” Rantaro turned back over to Ayano. “With that, my theory’s kinda screwed.”

Ayano hummed thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t be so sure…”

“What? How come?”

“You don’t remember how you got to the academy, do you?”

Rantaro stopped, quickly going through everything he remembered, only to realise again he had no idea how he got here.

“…No.”

“None of us do.” Ayano confirmed. “There has to be a reason for that, hasn’t there?”

Rantaro realised what Ayano was getting at.

“No way…”

“Yes way. Our memory of getting here was erased. So I doubt it would have been any different for our memories of the past killing games.”

“So you’re saying…As well as how we got here…Any memory we had of knowing about the past killing games was completely wiped?”

She nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. So with that, combined with Monokuma having developed a routine for this killing game, there definitely have to had been some in the past.”

Rantaro turned his gaze to the ground uneasily. “This is…Insane…”

“It shouldn’t be. You’re the one who came up with it.”

“I know that! But…I can’t believe this…That someone is disgusting enough to pull this more than once…!”

Ayano frowned. “It really is illogical…”

Rantaro grimaced.

_Is **this** what Jasper meant last night? That someone could be depraved enough not just to do this once, but multiple times!?_

_Should I try to talk with him about this…?_

…

…_I’m not sure if that’s a good idea…But other than Ayano, he’s the only one who-_

“AH-!”

“Huh!?” The two of them spun around to see what happened.

Kokoro had evidently cut herself on a needle or sharp edge of whatever Ayano had set up, and was now clutching her bleeding hand in pain.

“Ow…” She winced.

“Gr…! I told you not to touch that!” Ayano snapped.

“I’m sorry! I couldn’t help myself!”

Rantaro walked over to see the damage.

It looked pretty bad.

He grimaced. “We need to patch this up.”

“Yeah, that much should have been obvious.” Ayano said, folding her arms.

“I know that! We’ll need to go to the nurse’s office for this…”

He shot Kokoro a look. “But yeah. You shouldn’t have touched that.”

Kokoro pouted. “Aw, come on…”

It didn’t take the three of them that long to get to the nurse’s office on the first floor.

Rantaro sat Kokoro down on one of the beds while Ayano went through the cupboards.

She pulled out a roll of bandages and set them down before going into the cupboard again, before stopping.

“…Oh.”

“Oh what?” Rantaro asked.

She grimaced. “Maybe it’s in the other one…” She went for the next cupboard.

“Ayano, is something wrong?”

She continued digging through the different cupboards, not finding what she was looking for. “Where is it, where is it…!?”

“Oh? What’s going on in here?”

Rantaro flinched, then grimaced and turned to the door as he recognised the voice.

Jasper was leaning against the doorway, arms folded casually.

Rantaro gritted his teeth. “What are you doing here…?”

“I couldn’t help notice you and Ayano running Hikari in here with a bloody hand. I wanted to see what was going on.”

“Well you’ve seen it. Leave.”

“There’s no need to be so harsh.”

“Well now that you’re here, you can at least make yourself useful.” Ayano said, turning around from the cupboards. “I can’t find any antiseptic.”

Jasper tilted his head, intrigued. “Oh?”

_So that’s what Ayano was getting worked up about._ Rantaro thought.

“I’ve checked every single cupboard, but I couldn’t find any.” She continued. “There’s some in the chemicals lab, right?”

Jasper shrugged. “I assume so.”

“So make yourself useful and get some.”

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “Why me?”

“You decided to show up, so do something.” She gestured for him to leave. “Go on. I’m waiting.”

Jasper sighed and left. “Alright, I’ll be back in a few.”

Rantaro sighed in relief. “Good riddance.”

“Well, someone had to go get it.” Ayano pointed out.

“Yeah, speaking of,” Kokoro started. “Isn’t there not being any kinda weird? Shouldn’t antiseptic be near the top of the list of things a nurse’s office needs to 100% always have?”

“Maybe Monokuma just forgot to stock it today.” Rantaro said with a shrug. “No big deal.”

Kokoro turned her gaze away. “I dunno, it still seems odd…”

“Either way, Jasper’s gone to get some.” Ayano said.

Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “That’s if he gets any at all. This is Jasper we’re talking here.”

Ayano hummed. “True…”

“Hey!”

The three turned their attention back to the door.

Jasper was holding a small bottle with a smirk.

“Heads up.” He threw it to Ayano.

“Aah-!” Ayano, surprised, managed to catch it before reading the label.

“…Huh. You actually got it.”

“Of course I did. What, did you expect me to get cyanide poison instead or something?”

Ayano stopped, before looking back up to him.

“…Actually, yes.” She turned back around and got out a cotton swab.

“What are you gonna do with that?” Kokoro asked nervously.

“You have to hold still,” Ayano said as she dabbed the antiseptic on the swab. “This might sting a bit.”

She pressed the swab on the cut.

“AAAH!” Kokoro flinched back.

“I said hold still!”

“THAT’S stinging a BIT!?”

“Okay okay, calm down.” Rantaro reassured. “This is just for cleaning the wound out. I…Think.” He groaned. “God, it's at times like this where I wish Kaoru was still alive to explain stuff like this…”

“He was a paediatrician, not a full-blown doctor.” Ayano pointed out.

“Yeah, but I'd rather at least have someone with SOME medical training do this!” Kokoro exclaimed.

Ayano shot her a glare.

“…Sorry-”

She pressed the swab down without any mercy.

“GAAAAAAAH!!!”

“Alright, while those two are distracted.” Jasper turned to Rantaro. “Ran-Ran, can I talk to you for a second?”

Rantaro grimaced. “Please stop calling me that.”

“Okay, let me just give it to you straight. One of the bottles was missing.”

Rantaro stopped. “…What?”

“When I went up to get the antiseptic, there was a very clear empty space on one of the shelves of poisons and toxins.” He explained. “Isn’t that strange?”

Rantaro looked down. “…Yeah…That IS pretty weird…”

“Then I guess we’ll have to keep our eyes open.”

Rantaro stopped. “Huh?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Jasper said with one of his serious looks. “Someone’s planning a murder.”

Rantaro took a step back. “Wait, _what!?_”

“Why else would a bottle of poison go missing otherwise? Come on Ran-Ran, you’re smarter than this.”

“Jasper, hold on! It really hasn’t been that long since Yuuma was killed, I very highly doubt someone’s planning a murder already!”

“But then why else would one of those bottles disappear?”

Rantaro frowned uneasily. “…That’s a good point…But I still doubt anyone’s planning a murder.”

Jasper chuckled. “You can think whatever you want. But remember to watch your back.”

Rantaro grimaced.

This wasn’t the time for dealing with Jasper’s games. But…

This _was_ strange…Could he be right after all?

No. There’s no way someone was planning a murder already.

“Okay, all done.” Ayano said, alerting the two of them to her and Kokoro’s presence.

Kokoro, with the area now bandaged up, frowned uneasily. “Okay…Can you get that thing away from me now…?”

Ayano chuckled, depositing the swab in a nearby bin. “Don’t worry. It’s done.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Phew…”

“That’s good,” Rantaro said. “You doing okay now?”

“I guess. Thanks, Ayano.”

Ayano smiled. “No problem at all.”

“So,” Rantaro turned back to Kokoro. “What did you want to see me abo-”

“As a matter of fact,” Jasper said, answering his question. “I also wanted to show you something.”

Rantaro shot him a glare. “I wasn’t talking to you.” He turned back to Kokoro. “Anyway-”

“Oh, so you don’t want to see the secret of the ballroom then?”

“No, I don’t want to see the secret of the-” He stopped. “…Wait.”

Jasper sighed, resigned. “You only ever want to talk to me when you want something. What’s up with that?”

“You found the secret of the ballroom!?”

“It’s quite underwhelming, honestly. But I felt I should show you nonetheless.”

“Alright,” Ayano started. “So should we start-”

“No.” Jasper cut her off.

She stopped. “Huh?”

“This is a private matter between me and Ran-Ran. You two aren’t involved.”

“Please stop calling me that…!” Rantaro said through gritted teeth.

Ayano growled under her breath, irritated.

“Actually,” Kokoro started. “We kinda _are_ involved in this.”

Jasper stopped. “Oh?”

“Well, we _did_ just hear you say that you knew what the secret of the ballroom was. So even if you didn’t take us, we’d get you to tell us sooner or later. We’re involved in this, whether you like it or not.”

Jasper didn’t reply, then sighed and laughed to himself.

“Well played, Hikari. Alright, all three of you are coming.”

Ayano shot Kokoro a smile. “Nice one.”

Kokoro laughed. “It was right there. I had to.”

“So,” Rantaro asked as the four of them arrived at the ballroom. “What IS this secret, Jasper?”

“As I said, it’s quite underwhelming.” He replied. “I have no clue why Monokuma placed it on as high as a pedestal as he did.”

“…That doesn’t tell us what it is.”

“I know, give me a minute.” Jasper turned to the walls where – similar to Saiko’s lab – there were a number of electric lights made to look like candles. “I just need to find the right one…”

“Is it this?” Kokoro asked, flicking a switch close to the door.

All the lights, including the chandelier, went off and left the room in complete darkness.

Jasper sighed.

“…No, Hikari…That’s the light switch.”

“…Oh.” She turned the lights back on.

“How much longer is it gonna take before you show us?” Ayano questioned.

“Give me a minute, I just need to find the right one!”

“The right what?” Rantaro asked.

Jasper eventually stopped at one of the lights. “…Ah, there it is.”

“What?” Rantaro asked, walking over to see what Jasper had found.

He could see that just below the light, there was some kind of marker in the shape of Monokuma’s jagged eye to distinguish it from the others.

Jasper smiled to himself. “Yep. That’s the one.”

“…So what, the secret of the ballroom is some symbol below one of the lights? That’s _it?_”

“Nope.”

“Then what the hell IS i-”

Before Rantaro could finish, Jasper pulled the light down like a switch.

Rantaro stopped. “What…?”

The sound of a whirring crank alerted the three of them to the chandelier.

As the whirring sound continued, the hanging chandelier got lower and lower.

When the chandelier just about reached the ground, the whirring stopped.

Jasper smirked as the switch reset back to it’s previous position. “And there you go.”

“W- the chandelier just got lowered!” Kokoro exclaimed.

“Uh, yeah? We all saw it.” Jasper pulled the switch again, causing the chandelier to start being raised up. “No shit, sherlock.”

“A secret switch that lowers and raises the chandelier?” Ayano mused. “Interesting…”

“Is it? I was kinda disappointed when I found it honestly. I guess since Monokuma was talking so highly about it, I kinda expected something more.”

“Yeah, I guess he was bigging it up.” Rantaro said. “But still, this is kinda…Intriguing.”

“Yes,” Ayano agreed. “Why would the ballroom have such a mechanism in the first place?”

“Maybe to make it easier to repair the lights or something?” Kokoro suggested with a shrug.

“Possibly.” Rantaro said with a nod.

“I doubt that.” Jasper countered. “Monokuma was certainly talking it up. Maybe it has another purpose.”

Rantaro shot him a look. “…Are you SERIOUSLY suggesting that someone could use this to kill someone?”

“Maybe.”

“Considering the speed at which the chandelier lowers,” Ayano pointed out. “It wouldn’t have enough force to crush someone. And besides, the person would just get out of the way while it’s lowering.”

Jasper shrugged and shook his head. “Maybe you’re just looking at it wrong.”

“Seriously!?” Rantaro countered, irritated. “How ELSE could someone POSSIBLY kill anyone with a chandelier!?”

Jasper smirked. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see~”

Rantaro grimaced. “Jasper, this isn’t the time for your mind games…”

He simply laughed to himself as he left the three of them.

“Well that was certainly something.” Ayano mused.

“Indeed…” Kokoro turned to Rantaro. “But yeah, can we talk?”

Rantaro nodded. “Sure, what is it?”

“No, not now.” Kokoro said, shaking her head. “In private.”

“Oh, right.” Rantaro quickly turned to address Ayano. “You don’t mind, do you?”

Ayano shook her head. “It’s fine. I have to finish what I was working on, anyway.”

“Alright. See you around.”

“Yes, see you soon.”

Rantaro and Kokoro left and walked through the hall.

“So, what is it?” Rantaro asked.

“Actually,” Kokoro started. “Do you mind if we talk about this in your lab?”

Rantaro tensed.

“It actually has something to do with what I wanna talk about. Do you mind?”

Rantaro sighed. “…No, that’s fine.”

“Okay.”

The two of them got to Rantaro’s lab and went inside.

Rantaro sighed. He was still a little unnerved by the Ultimate Lab Monokuma made for him.

“…So…” Rantaro asked. “What is it?”

“Well,” Kokoro started. “When we got here yesterday, you seemed kinda…Uncomfortable.”

Rantaro stopped, then chuckled to himself dryly. “…You noticed, huh?”

“Yeah, why’s that?”

Rantaro sighed, turning his gaze away.

“Well…It kinda feels like Monokuma designed this lab as a dig at me…”

“What? What makes you say that?”

Rantaro gestured to the map at the back of the room. “That, for starters.”

Kokoro didn’t get it. “…It’s a map. What about it?”

Rantaro sighed and walked over to the map, pointing out one of the markers on it.

“The markers.” He explained. “Every single one of them point out everywhere I’ve searched.”

Kokoro stopped.

“…Oh…For your sisters, right?”

Rantaro nodded. “That’s right…How Monokuma has any way of knowing that, I have no idea…”

“That’s unfortunate…But I doubt Monokuma meant it that way.”

Rantaro raised an eyebrow.

“…Fair point.”

“And besides, that’s not the only thing.”

“Huh? What else?”

He took a step back from the map with a sigh. “It’s a lot harder for you to see it, but…This definitely proves that Monokuma made this as some kind of insult…”

“What do you mean?”

“The setup of the lab. He specifically set it up to look like my father’s office.”

Kokoro stopped. “…Your…Father?”

Rantaro nodded uneasily. “Yeah, that’s right…”

“Oh, right…” Kokoro looked down uneasily, likely recalling something Rantaro said about him in the past. “You didn’t have the best relationship with him, right?”

“I lost all of my sisters across the world. Of course I didn’t.” He grimaced. “And even before that…”

He instinctively brought his hand to his vision, where the scars of numerous cigar burns had somehow faded over time.

He sighed and lowered his hand. “I don’t know…”

Neither of them said anything for a bit.

“…Rantaro-”

Before Kokoro could finish, all the lights suddenly cut out.

“W-what the hell…!?” Rantaro started, frantically turning around in the darkness to see what was going on.

“What’s going on!?” Kokoro fretted, nervously backing up.

Thankfully, due to having travelled in dark conditions before, Rantaro’s eyes started to adjust a little.

He could just barely make out the shape of the desk, as well as Kokoro backing up and colliding against it.

“Ah-!”

“W- be careful!”

However, he couldn’t see the shadow of someone coming up behind him.

Kokoro, however, noticed.

“RANTARO, LOOK OUT!”

“Huh-!?”

Before he could react, a rag was forced against his mouth.

“RANTA-” Kokoro was cut off, the same evidently having happened to her.

Rantaro tried to struggle against the person’s grip, but whatever the rag had been soaked in took effect and he lost consciousness.

He didn’t know how long it had been when he was woken up.

“Rantaro? Hey! Rantaro, can you hear me!?”

“Nnngh…” Rantaro slowly pushed himself up.

Kokoro breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank god! I thought I lost you there…”

Rantaro took a deep breath and looked around.

He wasn’t in his lab anymore. He was in the stage room.

No. _Everyone_ was in the stage room.

“My, my!” Monokuma’s voice piped up from the front of the room. “It seems that everyone has finally joined us!”

Rantaro clenched his fists in anger.

Monokuma. Of course he was behind this.

“Monokuma…!” He growled as he started to push himself up. “What the hell is-”

It was at this point that he realised something was very wrong.

He of course felt somewhat drowsy after being rendered unconscious, but…

His wrist felt heavy.

“Huh…?” He instinctively lifted his wrist up to his vision.

…

That definitely wasn’t meant to be there.

Some kind of black and white bracelet had been clamped to his wrist.

“What the…!?” Rantaro pulled on it to get it to come off, but there was no use.

Something was keeping the bracelet firmly in place on his wrist.

It almost felt like…There were a number of needles inside the bracelet forcefully pinning it on him.

Whether he liked it or not, it wasn’t coming off anytime soon.

“What…_What the hell IS this…!?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh.  
So Slade wasn't lying about one more reference to Hope's Peak after all, huh~?
> 
> Hhhhhh there was so much to add in this chapter  
But thankfully I got it finished sooner than I thought I would. Nice.
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading to the end! <3  
(please leave any comments/reactions/theories down below!)


	21. Third Time's the Charm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monokuma reveals a new and more deadly motive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And yes.  
The title is a DR3 reference.  
...I mean come on, I HAD to make the title a DR3 reference-

Slade flashed a smirk. “See? I told you I had a plan.”

The man with the glasses was looking at the screen with wide eyes.

“NG codes…?” He said, surprised.

The blonde woman was scrolling through some kind of discussion feed on a nearby computer. “Well, the audience are certainly reacting positively to it.”

“They are?” The messy haired man asked.

“Yes. A lot of them felt that the End of Hope’s Peak arc was highly underrated, and are happy to see a nod to it here.”

Slade smiled. “See? Just like I said.”

The man with the glasses turned to him with raised eyebrows.

“…Huh. So I guess I underestimated you after all, Slade. I apologise.”

“There’s no need to worry about it, Spec. We’ve all underestimated each other at some point during our time working here.”

Spec chuckled dryly. “You can say that again…”

“I’m not sure she’d be too happy with it though…” The messy haired man twirled a lock of his hair around his finger. “Especially given the code you gave her.”

Slade brushed him off. “Please. She’s obsessed with Hope’s Peak, remember?”

He hummed thoughtfully. “True…”

“So what shall we do now?” The blonde woman asked curiously.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Slade reclined back in his chair, resting his hands behind his head with a devious grin.

“_We sit back and watch the show._”

“Th…The _hell!?_”

Rantaro desperately tugged and pulled at the bracelet clamped to his wrist, but it was no use. Whatever was keeping it in place – which felt like a thousand sharp needles – was certainly doing a very good job.

“Don’t bother.” Sachiko said from a few feet off.

“Huh?” Rantaro turned around.

She tapped her finger against a similar bracelet on her own wrist.

“Tried ripping it off before you woke up. Ended up doing nothing but nearly pulling one of my nails off.”

“Y-you have one too…!?”

“Not just her…” Kokoro said, prompting Rantaro to turn back around.

She raised her arm up to show him, revealing a matching bracelet on her own wrist.

“EVERYONE has one.”

Rantaro tensed.

Whatever this was, this was _definitely_ the next motive.

But why? What would Monokuma gain from giving them all bracelets?

_And why the hell won’t they come off!?_

“I see you’re all veeeery confused…” The bear piped up, reminding Rantaro of his presence in the room.

He growled under his breath as he got back up.

“_You’d better have a pretty fucking good explanation for this._”

“Oooh! Fiesty, feisty!” Monokuma cooed. “I always love seeing your fiery side, Amami! Upupu!”

“Get to the damn point, Monokuma.” He raised his arm up and pointed to the bracelet clamped to his wrist. “What the hell is this?”

Monokuma tilted his head in an almost swaying motion. “Well, isn’t it obvious? Those bracelets are the next motive!”

“The next…Motive…?” A confused Miko echoed.

“As in the function and reason for these strange bracelets are directly to do with the motive Monokuma wishes to present.” Ayano explained, before turning to the bear. “Is that correct?”

Monokuma nodded peppily. “Yup-yup!”

“Yeah. I figured.” Rantaro snapped. “Now what the hell are they?”

“Gee, _someone_ has a temper today!” The bear said with a chuckle.

“Well yeah, because I don’t know about you, but people tend to NOT like being forcefully knocked unconscious!”

“Um,” Jasper cut in. “_All_ of us were forcefully knocked unconscious? You don’t see anyone else complaining.”

Rantaro sighed, annoyed. “Jasper, shut up.”

Jasper tutted. “Just putting it out there.”

“Okay, is the infighting done?” Monokuma said, with his hands on his hips and tapping his foot (paw?) on the ground impatiently. “Because I wanna explain the motive now!”

Ahmya shrugged. “You could’ve opened with explaining the motive, but whatever.”

Ayano shot her a look. “Antagonising him isn’t a good idea. Anyway,” She turned back to Monokuma. “Yes, I believe we’d all quite like to hear what this motive is, and why it had to rendering us unconscious, dragging us here and forcing these bracelets on our wrists.”

“Why thank you!” Monokuma said with a smile. “It’s good to see some rationality in at least one of our students!”

“I’m a physicist. Rationality and logic is the focal point of most of my study. But do go on.”

“O-kay!” Monokuma pumped his fist in the air. “Well allow me to begin!”

Rantaro took a deep breath.

_This isn’t gonna be good…_

“As I said just now, these bracelets are your next motive!” He continued. “Or as I call them, the Monokuma Bracelets!”

Tsumugi rolled her eyes. “Creative name.”

Monokuma smiled menacingly. “Your detracting comments won’t work for much longer, Shirogane~”

She visibly tensed. “…_The fuck’s that supposed to mean…!?_”

“That aside,” Haruto moved on, likely to stop the Ultimate Confectioner from provoking Monokuma any further. “What do these Monokuma Bracelets do? And…” He pulled on his own Monokuma Bracelet to demonstrate. “Why won’t they come off?”

“Upupu, you’d best not try that any longer, mister!” Monokuma chuckled, wagging his finger like a parent telling off a misbehaving child. “That’s a surefire ticket to penalty town!”

Haruto tensed, moving his hand away from the bracelet. “P-penalty!?”

“Oh, did I not tell ya?” Monokuma said with a devious smile. “There’s a penalty game in play! That’s what these bracelets are for!”

“What kind of penalty are we talking here?” Kokoro asked.

“And uh, why do we have these bracelets again?” A confused Amai seconded.

“I’m getting to that!” Monokuma continued, the devious smile ever present. “I haven’t activated them yet, but once I do, you’d better take a good look at your Monokuma Bracelets! Trust me, you’ll be glad you did!”

“And why is that?” Ayano asked.

“Because once I activate these babies, written on them will be _**your NG code!**_”

“NG code…?” Rantaro echoed. “What’s an NG code?”

“To put it simply,” Monokuma explained. “Your NG code is something you absolutely under ANY circumstances must not can not ever do! During the duration of this motive, that is!”

“…I see…” Jasper mused, putting a finger to his chin. “So once our Monokuma Bracelets activate, we will each be given some kind of forbidden action, and if someone executes said forbidden action, they will face this penalty you brought up earlier. Correct?”

“Eeeeeexactly!”

“Hmm…” A smirk spread across his face. “…Intriguing.” He looked back up to Monokuma. “And what exactly _is_ this penalty?”

A wide and sharp-toothed grin spread across Monokuma’s face.

“_**DEATH!**_”

A chill swept through the room.

_D…Death…!?_

_He’s…He’s joking, right!?_

_I know this is Monokuma we’re talking here, but this is insane!_

“Those Monokuma Bracelets strapped to you are lined with thousands of teeeeeeny tiny needles, you see!” The bear went on. “And if you’re stupid enough to violate your NG code, your Monokuma Bracelet just won’t let it slide! And a lethal dose of my very special poison will shoot through your body faster than you can say ‘I’m sorry, please don’t kill me!’”

“Y-you’re kidding, right!?” Kokoro stammered. “You can’t just kill someone because they did something they weren’t meant to!”

“I think you’ll find I can, and I will! And to prove it…”

Monokuma put one of his hands behind his back for a few seconds, before whipping it out to show a Monokuma Bracelet of his own attached to his wrist.

“I shall provide a demonstration!” He turned the bracelet over to get a better look. “Now let’s say that my NG code was using the word ‘despair’ more than twice in once sentence.”

He cleared his throat.

“A-HEM…_Well I must say that this is the most despairingly despairful thing to ever bring despair-_”

A cheery jingle sounded from his Monokuma Bracelet.

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

The left side of his body violently shifted to a dark purple hue, as his jagged left eye grew brighter and brighter before cracking.

The cracks spread across his body, and Monokuma blew to pieces in a fiery explosion of nuts, bolts and melted metal.

Everyone panicked and jumped back in horror.

Rantaro, his eyes wide in terror, slowly put his hand to his mouth.

_N…No way…_

_Is this…Is this some kind of fucked-up joke…!?_

A new Monokuma appeared quickly after, now without the Monokuma Bracelet.

“This probably wasn’t an accurate demonstration,” He said cheerily – WAY too cheerily for someone who had just been poisoned and blown up. “Since this test was on my robotic bear body rather than one of your squishy human bodies! But the point still stands! Violate your NG code? You die! Somehow rip your Monokuma Bracelet off? It will detect this and valiantly fire off one final surge of poison from all needles before leaving your body! In short, you die! Got that?”

No response. The room was left in a horrified silence.

“Great! As for how you DO get them off, all Monokuma Bracelets will be removed once a murder occurs! However, if a body is discovered and the cause of death was violation of an NG code, it won’t count! It _has_ to be a murder! But if someone _forces_ someone to violate their NG code…Aw, forget it! I’ll leave THAT moral discussion for the trial! ‘Cause we all know it’s coming! Upupu!”

He raised his hand up. “And on that note, all Monokuma Bracelets will be activateeeeeeed…_**NOW!**_”

He brought his hand down.

On cue, a beep sounded from everyone’s Monokuma bracelet.

“Huh…?” Rantaro lifted his to his vision.

The screen on it – which he hadn’t seen due to that side of the bracelet being completely black – was displaying a smiley face and the message “NG code received!”

Experimentally, he tapped on the screen.

The message that greeted him was:

“Rantaro Amami’s NG code: Saving another participant”

…

_Well this is just great._

_If someone gets in trouble, I can’t save them or I’ll die too._

_Perfect…_

Everyone else seemed to have similar reactions to what their NG codes were.

Tsumugi clenched her fist as her arm shook in fury.

“What the…This is…!” She shot a death glare at Monokuma. “Y-you…!”

“Upupu! See what I told ya, little miss candy stripes~?”

The Ultimate Confectioner was practically shaking in rage. “GRRRRRR…!”

_Oh shit…_ Rantaro thought. _This motive’s even getting to Shirogane…!_

“So…” Ayano started, her eyes fixed on her bracelet. “If the condition the NG Code specifies is fulfiled, the wearer…Dies?”

“That’s right!” Monokuma chimed with a wink. “I _did_ just explain it to you though.”

She grimaced a little. “Affirmative…”

“Well…” Jasper closed his eyes and adjusted his glasses. “Quite the interesting and _original_ motive we have here.”

“Hehe…Of course!” Monokuma half chuckled. “Anything to keep this killing game going!”

“…You’re disgusting.” Sachiko cursed.

“Why thank you, dear student!”

“That was not a fucking COMPLIMENT…!”

“Aw, love ya too. Anyway, I’ve done what I needed to do! And remember, the bracelets only come off after a murder!” He saluted with a grin. “So long, bear well!”

He vanished, leaving everyone in the resulting uneasy atmosphere.

Rantaro turned his gaze back to his NG Code.

If he tried to save anyone who needed help, he would die.

And even though Monokuma’s demonstration was quote-unquote “innacurate”, he still didn’t want to go through, well…

…That.

But the only way to prevent that was through murder.

And like Monokuma had said, death by NG Code didn’t count.

Just like the last motive, Rantaro was weighing his options.

But then he immediately realised what he was considering and shook those thoughts out of his head.

_What the hell am I thinking!? Sure this motive sucks, but I can’t just kill someone over it!_

Everyone else was also equally uncomfortable.

“Tch…” Sachiko cursed. “Stupid bastard bear.”

Ahmya nodded in agreement. “Stupid bastard bear indeed.”

Miko hummed uneasily under his breath, as if to say “I don’t understand what you mean but I probably agree with you too”.

Ayano tilted her head. “Hm? Something the matter?”

Miko sighed and showed her his bracelet.

Her eyes widened slightly. “…Oh. That’s…Hm.” She pointed to the door. “Would you like to come with me to my lab? I have an idea.”

Miko nodded, and followed her out of the room.

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “…Well that didn’t take long.”

“What didn’t?” Amai asked.

“Someone already told someone else their code.”

“Oh, yeah. What do you reckon the permit’s on that, by the way?” She turned to the rest of the group. “I mean, Monokuma didn’t say anything about it.”

Ahmya shrugged. “He never said it was against the rules.”

“So shouldn’t it be better if we all just reveal our codes now?” Amai suggested. “Like, hold up.” She tapped her bracelet and turned it around to show everyone. “Here’s mine.”

“Amai Akuma’s NG code: Taking your hood off”

“…Huh.” Rantaro raised his eyebrows. “That’s not too bad.” He couldn’t deny that he was a little jealous that she got a lighter code than him.

“I know! Now for everyone else!” She turned to Jasper. “Topaz, what’s your-”

“No.” He responded straight away. “And did you seriously forget my name again?”

“Come on, it can’t be THAT bad! Spit it out!”

“Well I’m not telling you.”

Rantaro’s eyes narrowed. _Well that’s totally not inconspicuous at all._

“Uh,” Haruto piped up. “Maybe you shouldn’t force people to say what their codes are, Amai.”

Amai stopped. “Huh?”

“Haruto’s right,” Sachiko agreed. “Sure, you wanted to tell everyone. Good for you. But other people might not feel the same way.”

“Yeah, exactly.” Haruto seconded. “So don’t try to force anyone, okay?”

“Ohhhhh.” Amai realised. “My bad. Sorry, Topaz.”

“Jasper.” He corrected, adjusting his glasses. “And it’s fine.” He shot Haruto a smirk. “Looks like you’re good for something after all.”

Haruto growled under his breath and looked away.

“But yeah, we still have the same question we all had earlier.” Ahmya pointed out. “Now what?”

“I know!” Kokoro chimed in.

Ahmya turned to her.

Kokoro stopped, stammering a little as if to find an answer.

“Um, I-I, uh…Well we have this to deal with, right?”

“Well, yeah.” Tsumugi cut in. “No s-” She stopped herself, gritting her teeth and shooting her glare elsewhere. “Grrr…!”

“I think what she’s trying to say is, we know that.” Sachiko said. “The question is what are we gonna do now that we have these.”

“How the hell are we meant to know?” Rantaro answered. “We still need to figure out how we’re, oh I don’t know, gonna SURVIVE NOW because of these!”

“Oh, we don’t need to worry about that.” Jasper pushed his glasses up, causing the light reflecting across them to block his eyes completely for a second. “_We all know what’s coming next._”

Rantaro shot him a glare. “Shut up, Jasper. Nobody’s going to die.”

“So what? You suggest that we live with these forever?”

“…That’s…Not what I meant and you know it.”

“So somebody IS going to die after all?”

“That’s…You…Shut up!”

Jasper chuckled menacingly, making his way for the door. “Oh well…We’ll see about that~”

Rantaro gritted his teeth and grimaced.

Sure, there was still no way a murder could happen, but…

That’s what he thought last time. And the time before that.

And look what that resulted in: four dead bodies.

Not to mention, this motive was _far_ more extreme than the last two; one wrong move and you die.

Saiko killed for his own gain and Rikona killed out of self-defence. Now, someone could do it simply to save themselves.

And even if there wasn’t a motive, as Jasper pointed out this morning, a bottle of poison had gone missing.

So like it or not, Jasper had a point.

And Rantaro _hated_ that.

“Uh.” Ahmya piped up, snapping Rantaro back to reality. “Yeah, you kinda had a point earlier.”

“Huh?”

“About how we can’t really decide what we’re gonna do now.” She tapped a finger on her Monokuma bracelet. “Because of getting used to these things.”

“Well that’s kinda a downer…” Kokoro sighed.

“A motive’s just been released.” Sachiko said, deadpan. “It’s meant to be.”

Kokoro frowned, realising she had a point.

“So what?” Amai asked. “Should we just wait until something happens?”

“Isn’t that the same thing we’ve been doing anyway?” Tsumugi pointed out with a scowl.

“Looks like we don’t exactly have a choice…” Rantaro said with a grimace.

She rolled her eyes and groaned.

“Well if we’re done here,” Amai rested her hands behind her head and started walking. “I’m gonna head to my lab.” She briefly turned around to Kokoro. “Hey, Kokoro! You gonna come with me?”

“I, uh…” She started, before eventually nodding.

“Great! Let’s go!”

_...Wait, why did she hesitate?_

“Kokoro,” Rantaro started. “Are you…Okay?”

Kokoro’s eyes widened, and she turned her gaze to the ground.

But then she put on one of her signature smiles.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about it!”

“Huh? Are you sure-”

“Of course I’m sure, there’s no need to worry about little ‘ol me!”

“Hey, Kokoro!” Amai called out from in front. “Let’s go!”

“Oh, sorry!” She briefly turned back around to Rantaro. “I’ll probably see you later.”

“Kokoro-”

Before Rantaro could finish, she spun around and ran with Amai out the door.

_...Oh._

_Okay, something’s DEFINITELY up. She’s really not being subtle about it._

_I’ll have to try and talk to her later when she’s done with Amai…_

_As for now-_

“Hey, Rantaro.”

Rantaro stopped when Haruto addressed him.

“Huh? Haruto, what is-”

“Formality.”

“Oh, sorry. What is it?”

Haruto briefly looked around. Ahmya must have left while Rantaro was talking with Kokoro, and Tsumugi was still in the back of the room tapping her foot with a scowl, looking like she might burst with rage.

He sighed.

“…Can we talk? Privately I mean.”

“Huh? Oh, of course. I just…” Rantaro shot a glance at his Monokuma bracelet. “…Need a minute.”

“Yeah, of course. I’ll get us a table in the dining hall, alright?”

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Great! See you in a few.”

Haruto turned around and left, leaving Rantaro to sigh and look over his code again.

Sure it probably wasn’t that extreme in the long term – provided nobody got hurt – but it still kinda sucked.

So what, were they meant to live like this indefinitely?

Who knows…

After all, some poison had gone missing.

So maybe Jasper was right. He should keep his eyes open.

…

_Goddammit, I HATE thinking that Jasper’s right…_

He sighed and started for the door, and stopped when he realised there was still someone else in the room.

He turned around.

Sure enough, Tsumugi was still standing there, her foot tapping on the ground.

She was purposely trying to avoid eye contact, and looked like she was going to burst with anger.

“Oh. You’re still here.” Rantaro said.

“Oh why don’t-” She started mockingly, before stopping and turning around again, her scowl growing more and more. “GRR…!”

“…What? Why don’t I what?”

She didn’t reply. Her foot started tapping faster.

“Uh,” Rantaro started, now genuinely confused. “Isn’t this usually the part where you come up with a lame insult based on my hair or my jewellery or the fact that I’m stupid or something?” He put a hand to his chin. “Actually come to think of it, you haven’t done that to ANYONE since the motive was dropped…”

The tapping got faster and faster as Tsumugi chewed on her bottom lip.

It was at this point that it finally clicked.

“…Hey, Shirogane.”

She growled as she turned back to him.

Rantaro smirked.

“_You can’t insult anyone now, can you?_”

Tsumugi went red in the face with rage.

“I-! You-! YOU-!”

Rantaro couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Pffahahahahah! That’s amazing!”

“S-STOP LAUGHING, YOU-” She stopped herself and growled with gritted teeth. “Mrrrrgh…!”

“Oh god, this is torture for you isn’t it?” Rantaro said with a mocking lilt. “I can say anything I want to you and you can’t get me back!”

“No, don’t you DARE-!”

“For starters…”

He gestured at her stockings with a smirk.

“_Pink and white stripes don’t look good on you._”

Tsumugi stiffened as her eyes widened with pure rage.

“GRRRR…! ONCE THIS MOTIVE IS OVER I SWEAR TO GOD-!”

“Ah-aah. Careful.” He pointed to her Monokuma bracelet. “I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you.”

“Well…! I…! YOU…!”

She threw her arms down and spun her head around like a cliched anime tsundere. “HMPH!”

“Heheheh…At least this motive has one silver lining~”

“OH WHY DON’T YOU JUST-!…Grrr…”

Rantaro chuckled to himself, but then sighed.

“Oh, what am I doing…I should go back to Haruto.”

“Who, your boyfriend?”

“He’s NOT my boyfriend!…At least…I _think_ he isn’t…Ugh, whatever. I’m going now.”

Tsumugi stopped. “What? Didn’t you just say you could say anything you wanted to me now?”

“Oh, I can. I just realised that…”

He shot her a cold glare.

“_I shouldn’t be wasting precious time on someone as pathetic as you._”

Tsumugi froze.

Rantaro’s expression changed to a casual smirk.

“Bye~” He left and closed the door behind him.

When he closed the door, Tsumugi practically exploded with rage.

Rantaro sighed to himself as he made his way to the dining room.

Sure, playing with Shirogane was fun for a bit. But he had more important things to do.

Thankfully, there was nobody else in the dining room. People had either gone to spend time in their labs or elsewhere.

And as he promised, Haruto had gotten a table. He was drumming his right fingers on the table while he rested his head on his left hand with an almost distant look.

That almost automatically changed as soon as he saw Rantaro walk over.

“Oh, hey!”

“Hey, Haru.” Rantaro greeted with a wave. “Do you need me to get drinks or anything-?”

“Ah-ah-aahh. Already got that covered.” He pulled out two bottles of water – which he had gotten from the vending machine – and handed one to Rantaro.

“Oh.” He took it and sat down. “Thanks.”

Haruto shot him a wink. “No problem at all.”

Rantaro stiffened a little.

_Shit, I almost forgot how cute he was…_

He cleared his throat, regaining his composure.

“So what’d you want to talk about?”

Haruto twisted the cap off of his bottle. “I dunno, I just wanted to see how you were doing.” He took a sip of his water. “Things are getting pretty stressful now.”

“Understatement of the century…” Rantaro also had some of his water. “Especially with this sick new motive Monokuma came up with…”

“Oh yeah. I thought the past two were fucked up, but this…” He sighed.

Rantaro grimaced.

It was at this point that he realised that this is when he could talk to Haruto about what he realised before Yuuma died.

“Actually, how are _you_ doing?”

Haruto looked up to him. “Huh?”

“You heard me. Are you doing okay, Haru?”

“…I’m fine, I guess. Why you ask?”

“It’s just that,” Rantaro started, trying to find the right words. “You seemed kinda stressed for a bit since the first trial-”

Haruto almost immediately cut him off.

“A-all of us were stressed after that, remember? You don’t need to worry about that.”

“Are you sure-?”

“Yeah, I’m _fine_. You don’t need to worry about me.”

Rantaro frowned uneasily.

He knew exactly what Haruto was doing.

Deflecting whatever was bothering him and using a smile as a wall.

He should know. He does the exact same thing.

Rantaro sighed.

“Haru, you know that you can talk to me if something’s wrong, right?”

Haruto stopped.

“You did the same for me after that trial, remember? Makes sense that I at least return the favour. If something’s wrong, then you can tell me.”

Haruto didn’t say anything.

_...Shit, did I say the wrong thing?_ Rantaro thought.

Haruto sighed.

“…Alright…If you really want me to tell you, then I’ll tell you.”

Rantaro stiffened a little.

_I knew it…Something had been bothering him since then after all…_

“What is it?”

“You remember what I said to you the day after the first trial, right?”

Rantaro nodded slowly. He had just wanted to stay locked in his room after everything that happened with Saiko, but Haruto had coerced him into coming out. He remembered that crystal clear.

“Yeah…?”

“Well same as I said before. Saiko’s death wasn’t your fault…”

“…I don’t get why you’re bringing this up-”

“…It was mine…”

Rantaro froze.

_...What?_

Haruto chuckled dryly. “Keh…It’s ironic how I’m only bringing it up now, huh…?”

“W-wait, WHAT!?” Rantaro stammered. “What the hell are you talking about!? How could Saiko’s death have been your fault!?”

“I figured out his trap, remember?”

Rantaro stopped. “…Huh…?”

“Think about it. I figured out how the trap worked, which led to Kokoro catching Saiko out, which led to you nailing him down. I’m the one everything traces back to.”

Rantaro froze.

…_Of course._

_He was the one who figured out how Saiko’s Rube Goldberg device worked. And Kokoro used the rope fibres to catch him out and…_

_God, how did I not realise this sooner!?_

Haruto didn’t say anything else. He was purposely averting direct eye contact, but from what Rantaro could see, he had been evidently holding onto this for a long time.

“Hold on,” Rantaro started. “What about what you said back then? About how I shouldn’t blame myself since I had no idea what was gonna happen. Shouldn’t you apply the same to-”

Haruto slammed his fist on the table.

“_I __KNOW__ that!_ And believe me, I’ve TRIED! But I’m never able to convince myself that I’m not the one responsible, no matter WHAT I try to tell myself!”

Rantaro flinched back in shock.

This bitter and almost enraged tone coming from Haruto…He definitely wasn’t used to it.

Haruto also must have realised this. He froze, his hand tensing a little, then sighed and pulled his fedora down, averting eye contact again.

“…Sorry…I shouldn’t have snapped like that…Hell, I shouldn’t have bothered you with this, anyway…” He uncapped his water again. “…Let’s just…Change the subject…”

Rantaro couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing.

Haruto believed he was responsible for Saiko’s death.

And he had held onto this belief this entire time.

How could he _not_ have? He evidently had no-one to talk to about it.

Rantaro remembered how he talked to Kokoro about everything that happened with his sisters.

He remembered that even though it didn’t heal the scars completely, it made him feel a lot better.

Maybe…Just maybe…

He could try filling that role now?

“…Hey, Haruto.”

Haruto stopped, evidently noticing the lack of the nickname he had insisted on.

_Just what I was counting on… _Rantaro thought before continuing.

“You don’t need to worry about telling me this stuff. And you don’t need to worry about snapping either.”

Haruto tensed a little, looking away again.

“I mean, you’ve held onto this feeling for a long time. And believe me.” Rantaro sighed. “…I know how that feels…”

Haruto stopped, concerned. “Rantaro, what’re you-”

Rantaro stopped him. “Not now. We’re not making this about me.”

He turned away and started drumming his fingers on the table. “Right, sorry…”

Rantaro pressed his lips into a line.

_Maybe I shouldn’t have said that…_

He sighed and started slowly reaching his hand over.

“But just know this. I know exactly how you feel, so if you need me-”

He stopped himself, his hand tensing a little.

_Why am I doing this…? I’m not even sure if he likes-_

…

_I don’t care. That doesn’t matter right now._

_He’s the one who matters right now._

Rantaro took Haruto’s hand in his, gently running his travel-worn thumb in circles across the other’s much smoother palm.

Haruto froze, surprised at the gesture. He turned back around to finally face him again.

Rantaro was giving him a gentle smile.

“…I’ll always be there for you.”

Haruto blinked a few times in surprise.

Then he chuckled dryly to himself and ran his free hand over his eyes – likely to rub away any residual tears before they started – before moving his other hand so the two’s fingers were interlocking.

“…Thank you, Rantaro. I really appreciate that.”

Rantaro flinched a little at this gesture.

He still wasn’t sure how Haruto felt about him, but he had to admit.

Holding his hand felt nice.

“Why didn’t you say anything before?” Rantaro asked.

Haruto sighed. “I didn’t really want to bother you with any of my problems. We’re in a killing game after all, we have enough problems to deal with already. And besides, it’s not the easiest thing to just…_Say_.”

Rantaro hummed quietly. “Yeah, I get what you mean…”

“Why did you bother asking?”

Rantaro shrugged. “It looked like something had been bothering you. You’re my friend. I was worried about you.”

Haruto chuckled dryly. “Can’t argue with that…”

“Do you feel any better from telling me about it?”

“A little, I guess…But I dunno…” He sighed. “I just don’t know if I’ll be able to deal with someone else’s blood being on my hands…Or feeling like it is, at least…”

“You won’t have to worry about that, Haru. This isn’t gonna be like the first trial.”

“I get that…But it honestly feels like Monokuma came up with this motive to rub it in…”

Rantaro tensed a little. “…What?”

“Huh? Oh, right.”

Haruto let go of Rantaro’s hand so he could tap the screen of his Monokuma bracelet, before turning it over to show Rantaro his code.

“Haruto Sora’s NG code: Letting Sachiko Akahana die”

“…What…?” Rantaro said breathlessly.

Haruto frowned, tapping the screen again to make the code disappear. “Exactly. If I’m not able to prevent Sachiko from dying, Monokuma will kill me.”

Rantaro grimaced. “God…”

“I know…” He sighed. “If this isn’t rubbing salt in the wound, I don’t know what is.”

_So I guess I’m not the only one Monokuma’s targeting with this stuff…_ Rantaro thought.

“I’m sorry about that, but…I don’t think you should worry about something like that happening. Sachiko is the Ultimate Delinquent after all. I’m pretty sure she can put up a fight.”

“Yeah, I know that. But I can’t help worrying about her…And not just because I could die in return…”

He stopped. “Huh?”

Haruto laughed to himself. “This is probably really dumb, now that I’m thinking about it…Like, what am I, some movie protagonist from middle school? Heheh…”

It was at this point that the puzzle was starting to fit together in Rantaro’s mind.

Ever since the first trial, Haruto had been making a point of trying to talk to her.

Even though she didn’t always want to, he never forced her into anything and insisted it was her choice.

When Rantaro asked him why, he brushed it off as “another thing entirely” and changed the subject.

He was the one who insisted on defending Sachiko during the second trial in the first place. (sure it was according to Jasper’s plan, but still)

And the two of them had evidently been getting closer for the past few days since the second trial, going by the fact that she was with him when Rantaro realised the fact that there were multiple killing games this morning.

…

Honestly, Rantaro was surprised he didn’t realise this sooner. He was able to figure it out pretty quickly between Miko and Ayano, after all.

But was Haruto _really_ about to say that he…?

…

“…Haru, are you saying that…_You have feelings for Sachiko?_”

Haruto chuckled dryly.

“It makes me sound like some bland anime lead, but I guess that’s one way of putting it…”

…

…_Oh._

_That’s…_

…_Huh…_

…

“Is something wrong?” Haruto asked.

“Wh-” Rantaro, realising his disappointment could potentially be seen, immediately brushed him off. “No, I…Just didn’t expect you to say that.”

He chuckled to himself a little. “Honestly I didn’t see it coming either, but here we are…”

“I mean, _Sachiko?_ She’d probably try to kill you if you tried to flirt with her!”

He shrugged. “I’m not _trying_ to. I don’t really wanna come off as creepy, or that I wanna force myself on her or anything.” He grimaced a little. “Had _way_ too many bad experiences with people to know how that feels…”

_That must explain why he isn’t trying to force anything…_

…_Wait, what does he mean by “bad experiences”-?_

“But the point is.” Haruto continued. “I care about her.” He pointed to his Monokuma Bracelet with a grimace. “And I’m pretty sure Monokuma used that to spite me.”

_It seems like it… _Rantaro thought. _Since he felt that he was directly responsible for Saiko’s death, if Sachiko dies, his NG code will kill him as a punishment for not being able to save her._

“That’s…Fucked up…” He said aloud.

“It really is…” Haruto sighed, pulling the brim of his fedora down. “And it kinda brought everything about the first trial back to the forefront…”

“Is that why you wanted to talk to me?”

Haruto nodded slowly.

Rantaro sighed. “Well if it’s any consolation…” He tapped the screen on his own Monokuma Bracelet and turned it around to show him.

Haruto read the words printed on the screen. “‘Saving another participant’?” He frowned uneasily. “Damn…That’s…”

Rantaro nodded solemnly. “Yeah…If anyone gets in trouble, I could potentially die if I try to help them.” He sighed. “I think yours is worse though.”

Haruto pressed his lips into a firm line. “Mmhm…”

Rantaro realised it might be a good idea to change the subject.

“So…How are you gonna approach this?” He asked, causing Haruto to perk up. “Your feelings for Sachiko, I mean.”

“I’m actually not that sure…” Haruto said, putting his hand to his chin. “I mean, I don’t really wanna force anything.”

“So what, you’re gonna wait until she confesses first or something? She’s hardly the type to talk about that kind of thing.”

“Maybe? I don’t know. The bottom line is I’m not going to start anything if she doesn’t want to.”

Rantaro shrugged. “That makes sense.”

_It makes sense for the Ultimate Broadway Actor to be gentlemanly like that._

“I mean,” He continued, recalling her being with him that morning. “She’s been talking to you more openly, right? That’s promising.”

“I guess. But the first time I was mainly trying to talk to her because she seemed lonely. I didn’t realise it was because I had a _crush_ on her, heh…”

“When _did_ you realise, actually?”

“After the second trial. I initially thought that tugging feeling telling me she wasn’t the culprit was just that I had scarily good intuition, but that night I realised…I’m _really_ not smart enough to have something like that…” He laughed to himself.

_...Okay, that explains a LOT about that trial._

“But yeah, like I just said,” Haruto went on. “I kinda have no idea how to approach it. As you said earlier, she doesn’t really talk about that kind of thing.” He sighed dramatically, sliding down in his chair a little as he pulled down the brim of his fedora. “_Daaaaammiiiiiit_…This is literally the LAST place I should be having girl problems…”

“What, have you not dealt with this before?”

“_Nooooooo…__” _He brought his head down onto the table in frustration.

Rantaro’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Wait, Haruto, you’ve never had an actual long-term girlfriend!?”

Haruto lifted his head back up to give Rantaro a deadpan glare.

“I _tried._ I’m an actor quite a lot of people know and idolise, do you seriously think a girl would’ve seen me for _me?_”

He slammed his head back down onto the table again.

“…Oh. Fair point.”

“And besides,” He went on. “Practically NO girl would believe I liked them anyway!”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

He looked back up again.

“I’m a theatre kid. If I said I was straight, literally nobody would believe me.”

He slammed his head back on the table again.

Rantaro eyed him with concern. “…You need to stop slamming your head on the table, Haru. You might bruise something.”

“Uuugh…” He groaned as he sat back up. “Either way, it’s hard.”

Rantaro raised his eyebrows. “…Huh. I didn’t realise it was that hard for you.”

Haruto gave him a look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“No, no, I just thought…Well, you’re a stage actor. You’re bound to have a lot of people looking up to you.”

“Don’t get me started on _that…_But yeah, I guess.”

“And besides, you’re…” He turned his gaze away from a second, stuttering a little. “Y-you’re…Really pretty…”

Haruto’s eyes widened a little.

He chuckled, putting his hand behind his head. “Heh…You really think so?”

Rantaro chuckled to himself a little. “I mean, if you can get her to like you there won’t be a problem.”

Haruto’s expression fell a bit. “But I really don’t wanna force anything, you know? I don’t wanna be like one of those scummy leads you see in cash-grab romcoms.”

Rantaro nodded solemnly. “That’s fair, they _are_ pretty scummy…”

“Yeah, exactly! I don’t wanna come across like that!”

“So what, you’re going to wait until she says something first?” Rantaro winced a little. “That’s…Gonna take a while…”

“I _know_ that. But what else am I meant to do?”

Rantaro sighed. “I don’t know if I can really give you advice than to just go for it, I guess.”

He perked up. “Huh?”

“I mean, I doubt she’ll say anything first. And if you really feel this way about her, it’d probably be a good idea if you said something. At the right time though, of course.”

“Hmmm…Hey, maybe you’re right!”

Rantaro chuckled dryly. “Glad I could help.”

“And hey,” Haruto continued. “Maybe you might be able to do the same with Kokoro.”

Rantaro’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “Huh?”

“Kokoro. Maybe you could try asking her.”

“Asking her…What, exactly?”

He laughed. “What, you’re telling me you HAVEN’T noticed!?”

Rantaro was genuinely confused. “Haru, what are you talking about!?”

“Oh come on, now you’re just messing with me. You HAVE to have noticed by now.”

“…No, I…” He shook his head. “Genuinely have no idea what you’re talking about.”

His eyes widened, blinking a few times in surprise. “…Oh. Huh.” He tutted as a smirk spread across his face. “Well, you’re more clueless than I thought.”

“Wh- hey!” Rantaro snapped. “What’s THAT supposed to mean!?”

Haruto laughed. “Hah! I’m just shocked that you didn’t notice by now!”

“Notice _what!?_ What are you talking about!?”

“Heheh…I guess you’ll just have to figure it out for yourself~”

“Oh, _come on!_ Tell me!”

“Think of the context of the conversation, Rantaro.” He shot Rantaro a wink. “Doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.”

Rantaro growled under his breath while Haruto chuckled in amusement.

Rantaro eventually smiled a little. Sure, Haruto was messing with him, but he just couldn’t stay mad at him.

Then he remembered something.

“It’s actually good that you brought her up,” He said. “Because I need to talk to her.”

“Huh?” Haruto asked. “How come?”

“Something’s been bothering her since we were given the motive. She’s my friend, so I need to figure out what’s wrong. Also, I…”

He stopped for a few seconds, remembering how she helped him out of his rough patch after the second motive was given.

“…Kinda owe her.”

Haruto seemed to understand. “Makes sense…So what, you want to figure out what’s wrong?”

“Yeah, exactly. She went off with Amai after the motive was given, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah, she did.”

“Right, so I’d better head there.” He chuckled awkwardly. “Sorry if I cut this short.”

“No no, it’s fine!” Haruto dismissed. “This went on for _waaay_ longer than I intended, anyway…”

The two of them laughed.

“Alright, so it’s decided.” Rantaro got up from his chair. “Stay safe, okay?”

Haruto chuckled. “Don’t need to ask me twice.”

The two of them bumped their fists against each other, and Rantaro left to go to the third floor.

He smiled to himself.

Sure, he knew now that Haruto wasn’t interested in him in the way he wanted.

But he didn’t care.

They were there for each other. And that was all that mattered.

It didn’t take much longer until Rantaro reached the third floor.

Now that he was alone, he absentmindedly fiddled with his Monokuma bracelet.

Even though all of the needles holding it in place didn’t cause much pain, it was already getting uncomfortable knowing that a lethal dose of poison was sitting right there around his wrist.

He grimaced uneasily.

This motive was just plain _sick._

First it was a reminder of what you could lose, then a secret you wanted to keep, but now Monokuma suddenly ramped it up to dying if you make one wrong move.

Where was Monokuma going to go from there?

Then again that would be the event in which someone actually kills again, which would never-

…

Actually, he wasn’t so sure about that anymore.

A murder had already happened twice. It’s all too possible now that someone would be willing to kill in order to save themselves.

He sighed.

Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about that.

He had gotten to Amai’s lab anyway.

He knocked on the door.

“Just a second!” Amai’s voice called from the other side, before Rantaro heard her run over to the door and pull it open.

“Oh hey, Rantaro!” She greeted cheerily. “What’s up?”

“Sorry if I’m interrupting you or anything,” He replied. “It’s just…”

He quickly spared a glance over Amai’s shoulder. Sure enough, Kokoro was in a spare chair next to the massive desk, and she visibly tensed when she noticed him.

He turned back over to Amai. “I just want to talk to Kokoro. In private.”

“Huh? Oooohhh, okay!” She turned over to Kokoro. “Hey Kokoro, Rantaro wants to talk to you! You alright with that?”

Kokoro stopped.

“…U-uh…” She visibly struggled with her words. “…No…?”

“Huh? Oh,” Amai turned back over to Rantaro. “Sorry, she doesn’t-”

Before Amai could finish her sentence, Kokoro had gotten up and walked past her out the door anyway.

_...Huh?_

“…Oh. Okay then.” Amai said.

“You okay to continue on your own?” Kokoro asked.

“Aw yeah, I’ll be fine! Just go have your talk with Rantaro, ‘kay?”

“…Ah…U-uh...” She eventually nodded.

“Great! See you when you’re done!”

The door closed, leaving the two of them alone.

The two of them were left in an awkward silence for a bit.

_Okay something’s definitely up. _Rantaro thought. _She said she didn’t want to talk, but she’s coming with me anyway? What’s going on?_

“S-so…” Kokoro started. “Where do you wanna go?”

“Huh? Oh, uh…Well my lab’s just down this way. It’ll be quicker if we go there.”

She nodded. “Okay, that sounds good.”

The two of them walked down to Rantaro’s lab, Rantaro making sure he closed the door behind him to prevent any unwanted intruders.

He took a deep breath and turned around.

“…Okay. What’s going on?”

Kokoro tensed. “Huh!? U-uh…Nothing.”

“Yeah, no. Something’s obviously wrong. You’ve been acting weird ever since we got these bracelets. So what’s wrong?”

“N-nothing’s wrong! There’s no need to worry about me!” She stammered.

“Kokoro, you know you can tell me, right?”

“Um…No…?”

“W- what do you mean, _no!?_ We went over this after the second motive, remember?”

“N-no we didn’t…”

“We _did!_ When you had that talk with me about my secret! Do you not remember that?”

“I don’t remember that…”

_Okay, something is DEFINITELY wrong. There’s NO WAY she forgot about that!_

“Kokoro, there is no possible way you forgot that.”

She visibly perked up when he finished his sentence.

“Y-yeah, of course I remember that!”

Rantaro stopped. _Wait, what?_

“I mean, how could I have forgotten about that!? There’s no way!”

“Wait, but you just said that you didn’t?”

“U-uh…I didn’t say that.”

“W- yes you did!”

“Yeah, I know I did! It’s just-” She brought her hand to her head. “Ugh, how the hell can I possibly explain this…!?”

Rantaro was obviously very confused by all this.

_Wait, what!? She said that she DID remember that, but as soon as I asked her about what she said, she acted like she didn’t say anything!_

…

_...Hold on a second._

_She’s only been giving these weird responses when…_

“…Kokoro…Is this because I’m _asking_ something?”

She stopped, her eyes darting around the room as she tried to figure out something to say.

She eventually decided to not say anything and just nodded.

_Oh._

_Of course…She’s only been giving these weird responses whenever someone’s asked her a question._

_The only reason she suddenly backtracked was because I wasn’t asking her anything!_

She sighed. “Guess I’d better just show you then…”

Rantaro snapped out of his thoughts. “Wait, show me what?”

Kokoro started to say something, but pressed her lips shut and just showed him her Monokuma Bracelet.

Printed on the screen was:

“Kokoro Hikari’s NG code: Answering a question with the truth”

Rantaro’s eyes widened.

“…You can’t answer a question truthfully?”

“Nnn…No.”

“So what, every time someone asks you a question, you have to lie?”

“…No…”

_...OH._

_Now everything makes sense…! The reason why she’s been acting so weird is because whenever someone asks her a question, she always has to lie!_

_God…Between mine, Haruto’s, Amai’s and Tsumugi’s, hers is DEFINITELY the worst by far…_

“I did manage to find a loophole though…I think.”

“Really?”

Kokoro stopped herself before she could say anything and nodded instead.

“What is i-” Rantaro stopped himself and rephrased. “Tell me what it is.”

“Well, apparently the NG code only comes into effect if I SAY anything. So I can still nod my head yes and shake my head no without triggering it.”

He put his hand to his chin. “I see…So what’s been going on?”

“Um…” She started, struggling to figure out the wording. “…Nothing. It’s not like I’m having any trouble getting used to it or anything.”

_So she’s having trouble getting used to her NG code…_ Rantaro thought.

_Well of course she is. One wrong word and she dies. It must be hellish to deal with!_

_And it’s not like she can just make people stop asking questions. That’s a normal part of basic conversation, you can’t just stop that!_

“But still, I can’t just not respond to anything,” Kokoro continued. “Since I’m so used to just talking to people, you know?”

“Yeah, I get what you mean…” Rantaro said. “It must be really hard to deal with.”

Kokoro nodded. “And the only way to get out of this is if someone kills someone again…”

Rantaro nodded in solemn agreement. “Yeah, unfortunately…”

He grimaced slightly. He wasn’t sure anymore that no murders would happen after the last two trials, but given Kokoro’s steadfast belief in the group, he couldn’t just _say_ that.

She sighed. “But I’m being selfish I guess…I can’t imagine what it’s like for everyone else…”

“Huh? Oh, well,” Rantaro tapped the screen of his Monokuma bracelet and showed her. “If it’s any consolation.”

She frowned after reading it. “Jeez, that’s also really rough…!”

“Yep,” Rantaro said with a sigh. “Monokuma chose these well I guess…”

“Ugh…” She groaned. “This motive suuuuucks…”

“Understatement of the century…”

_I honestly don’t think it’ll be long before another murder happens… _He thought with a frown.

_Wait, I shouldn’t think like that. That’d just be giving in to Monokuma’s line of reasoning._

He sighed.

“Alright, so what do you wanna do now?”

Kokoro stopped. “…Uh…”

Rantaro realised why and rephrased again. “Oh, well it’s getting late. If there’s anything you want to do, you can tell me.”

“Thanks for that. Well…” She started. “We could get some drinks. How does that sound.”

Rantaro nodded with a smile. “That sounds great.

Kokoro nodded back, smiling as well. The two of them walked out and started to head down the hallway when they ran into Amai.

“Hello again!” She greeted.

Kokoro waved back. “Hey!”

“What’s going on?” Rantaro asked.

“Eeh, nothin’ much…” Amai said with a shrug. “Just figured I’d see how you guys were doing.”

“Fine I guess…” Kokoro said. “I mean, the motive’s hard to deal with, is all.”

“Yikes…”

“Hey,” She offered. “Rantaro and I are just going to get drinks downstairs. You wanna come with us?”

Amai’s eyes lit up. “That sounds like a GREAT idea! Of course I’ll come with you guys!”

Rantaro chuckled. “Alright, alright…Let’s go, the nighttime announcement might go off soon.”

The three of them got to the dining hall to see that two other people had gotten there before them.

Miko and Ayano were both preparing two mugs of something when the three of them entered.

“Ah, good evening.” Ayano greeted with a smile.

“Hey, Ayano.” Rantaro returned the greeting. “What’s up?”

“I’m just making some chamomile tea, if you’re wondering.”

“Chamomile tea? That isn’t really your style.”

“It really isn’t, but Miko insisted. It’ll apparently help me sleep better, or…Something.”

Miko didn’t say anything, but nodded in agreement.

Rantaro noticed that he was also carrying a whiteboard and pen in his hand.

_Why is that?_ He thought.

“Actually,” Ayano asked, bringing him out of his thoughts. “Would you three like some?”

“Huh? Oh, um,” Rantaro started. “Well we were coming down for drinks anyway, but-”

“Oh, then all the more reason for you to have some.”

“Ayano, you _really_ don’t have to-”

“Oh no no, I insist.” She opened the cupboard and started getting three more mugs down.

“U-uh…” Rantaro realised at this point that there was no real point in stopping her. “Oh alright, if you insist.”

“Thanks, Ayano!” Amai said cheerily.

Ayano chuckled. “It’s no trouble. I’m really just waiting for the water to boil, so go ahead and find a table.”

Rantaro nodded as the four of them made their way to a nearby table.

Kokoro and Amai had already started chatting amongst themselves before they sat down, with Kokoro visibly making a point of showing Amai her NG code to make things easier for them.

Rantaro sat down with a sigh. “It’s really nice of Ayano to do this. I’m gonna have to thank her properly later.”

Miko nodded in agreement.

“Oh, actually, how have you been holding up, Miko? I know this motive has been rough and all.”

Miko visibly tensed.

“…Is something wrong?” Rantaro asked, concerned.

He didn’t say anything for a bit, but then pulled out the whiteboard he had earlier and started writing something on it.

“Wait, what’re you-”

Miko finished writing and turned the whiteboard over to show him. Written on it, in perfect Katakana, was:

“_Apologies in advance._”

“…For what?” Rantaro asked.

Miko sighed, and tapped the screen of his Monokuma bracelet. He evidently didn’t tap the right part, so he tapped a few more times in frustration before he got it to work.

He eventually got it to work and showed Rantaro what was on it.

“Miko Tsunade’s NG code: Speaking out loud”

Rantaro froze. “Okay, now THAT’S just cruel…!”

Miko nodded solemnly before writing again.

“_It really is. I’m having quite a bit of trouble getting used to it myself._”

Rantaro sighed. “I’m sorry about that…”

“_There’s no need for you to apologise._”

“So that’s why you’re using the whiteboard? Where did you get it?”

“_It was Ayano’s idea. She got it for me from her lab when I showed her my code._”

“Huh. That was nice of her.”

“_It really was._” He smiled to himself. “_She’s such a nice person._”

Rantaro smirked. “So you _do_ like her, don’t you?”

Miko flinched, before furiously writing a _very _long string of Katakana on his whiteboard.

“Easy, easy…!” Rantaro chuckled before changing the subject. “Can I just say, your handwriting is really pretty.”

Miko stopped, erasing the long rant he had started writing a few seconds earlier and started writing again.

“_Thank you. My father taught me how._”

“Your father?”

Miko stopped for a few seconds, then nodded and continued writing. “_Yes. He was quite fond of calligraphy._”

“I can see that. It’s really neat.”

“_Thanks again._” Miko stopped and sighed before writing again. “_The only problem is that I struggle with romanised lettering.”_

“Really?”

“_Yes, it’s unfortunately difficult for me to write it. I can write it, but only in block capitals for now._”

“Huh…Makes sense, since Kana is what you’re used to.”

Miko nodded.

“Alright, that aside,” Rantaro shot a glance to where Ayano was. “Do you know what her NG code is?”

Miko shook his head.

“You don’t? How come?”

“_I haven’t asked yet,_” He wrote. “_But I’m not sure if she wants to tell me._”

“I see…I mean, she doesn’t have to say if she doesn’t want to, I guess.”

Miko nodded. “_I’m just happy she’s taking my advice for once…_”

“What, about the chamomile tea?”

“_Yes. I am still quite worried about her sleep schedule after something she said to me this morning._”

Rantaro nodded as he read, realising that Miko meant the conversation between them in her lab about her home life.

…The conversation Rantaro listened in on, but Miko didn’t need to know that.

“Apologies if I’m interrupting,” Ayano said, catching their attention. “But the tea is ready.”

Miko started to get up from his chair.

“Oh, no no, I don’t need any help.”

He tensed and started writing furiously on his whiteboard again.

“Alright, alright, if you insist.” Ayano chuckled.

“Do you need me to help too?” Rantaro suggested.

“_There’s only five cups, so the two of us will be fine._” Miko wrote. “_I appreciate the offer though._”

Rantaro nodded. “Okay, if you say so.”

The two of them brought everyone their cups, with Ayano getting her own and sitting down with them.

She took a sip of her chamomile tea.

“…I must say, this tastes a lot better than I expected.” She mused.

Miko smiled. “_I knew you’d like it!_”

She chuckled to herself.

“How have you been doing, by the way?” Rantaro asked.

“Eh, I’m not sure…” Ayano said with a shrug. “My lab has been helping me pass the time, but we are still trapped here. And I have been thinking about the theory you brought up this morning.”

“_Theory?_” Miko wrote, perplexed.

“Oh, I’ll tell you about it in the morning.” Ayano dismissed, before turning to the other two at the table. “How about you?”

Kokoro tensed, so Amai spoke up instead.

“I dunno really,” She said. “Kokoro’s been having trouble getting used to her code, but we all are I guess.”

Kokoro nodded as if to say “thanks for that”, and Amai gave her a thumbs-up.

“_Yes,_” Miko wrote. “_This motive is quite the problem to deal with…_”

“Understatement of the century…” Rantaro said as he took a long sip of his tea.

“But unless someone dies,” Ayano said, leaning back in her chair. “We will have to deal with this motive for the unforeseeable future.”

“So what,” Kokoro started. “You think someone’s gonna die again!?”

“Hmmm…I’m not quite sure, honestly. Sure, this motive is quite the problem, but considering what happened to Saiko and Rikona, the killer should know the consequences of an action like that by now.”

“_That is true,_” Miko wrote. “_I just wished they learned that after what happened with Saiko._”

“Sure,” Rantaro said. “But what happened with Rikona was in the heat of the moment. Yuuma attacked first, remember?”

Miko nodded solemnly. “_That, unfortunately, is also true…_”

“Well, we can’t think like that, can we?” Kokoro said. “We can’t keep going along with this anymore!”

Amai pumped her fists up. “Hell yeah!”

Rantaro, Ayano and Miko, however, looked among themselves uneasily. It was clear that they were all thinking the same thing:

_Can we really believe that?_

Miko sighed and shook his head, before writing on his whiteboard again. “_What purpose could Monokuma have for all this anyway?_”

“I’m really not sure,” Ayano said. “If he wanted us dead, he would have killed us all by now, no?”

“Well, his goal seems to be to make us play this killing game, right?” Rantaro suggested.

“_Yes, but how come?_” Miko wrote.

Rantaro frowned. “…Good question.”

“_Exactly! This is just killing for no reason! But he has to have a reason to set all of this up, right?_”

“…Also a good question.”

“Yes,” Ayano agreed. “Monokuma needs to have some kind of reason behind all of these illogical theatrics. It wouldn’t make any sense otherwise.”

Miko sighed. “_None of this is making any sense…_”

“Preaching with the choir there…” Rantaro said with a solemn nod. “Either way, it’s way too late to be thinking about stuff like this, isn’t it? We already have the motive to deal with, not to mention.”

“It’s quite a cruel motive.” Ayano agreed. “Not to mention,” She fiddled with her bracelet with a grimace. “The bracelets are getting uncomfortable.”

“_Agreed._” Miko wrote.

“Yeah, very.” Rantaro seconded.

Almost as if on cue, a familiar chime rang through the speaker.

“This is a school announcement. It is now 10pm, which means it is officially nighttime! Upupu...See you tomorrow!”

Amai groaned. “Ugh, nighttime already…?”

Rantaro shrugged. “It has been a pretty long day.”

“_It really has._” Miko wrote, before starting to gather the cups.

“I can help if you want.” Rantaro suggested, getting up.

Miko stopped, and nodded.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

The two of them gathered the cups up and, with some help from the other three, washed them and put them away.

Amai sighed. “I’m beat…What do you say we sleep now?”

“I have been waiting to hear that…” Ayano said with a chuckle.

The five of them headed to the dorms, each of them going into their rooms and likely collapsing immediately into bed.

Rantaro, however, was stopped before going into his.

“Hm. I didn’t think Ayano and Miko were your type of crowd.”

Rantaro groaned. “What do you want, Jasper?”

“I just wish to know what it is you were doing. That’s all.”

He sighed. “Ayano offered to make us chamomile tea. Happy?”

Jasper blinked. “…Really?”

“Yes. Now leave me alone, I need to go to bed.”

“Temper, temper. Is it really wrong for someone to be curious?”

Rantaro was done. He just wanted to go to sleep.

“JASPER. LEAVE. ME. ALONE.”

“Alright, alright!” He jumped back. He sighed, turning to the direction of his own room. “The nerve of some people…”

Now that he was free of that annoyance, Rantaro pushed the door of his room open and practically collapsed into bed.

After everything that happened today, he was _really _tired.

He just hoped that he’d be able to sleep properly now.

_Here’s hoping…_ He thought, before drifting off.

DING-DONG-DONG-DING!

“Goooood morning, students!” Monokuma’s announcement chimed. “It is now 8am, which means it’s time to rise and shine! So get up and seize the day! Upupu!”

“Alright, alright…” Rantaro groaned, pulling himself out of bed.

Sure, sleeping with the Monokuma bracelet was uncomfortable even when he was lying on the opposite side, but he did sleep better than usual.

Guess the chamomile did help after all, huh? Ayano should take Miko’s advice more often.

He walked out and headed to the kitchen, hoping to make himself some coffee.

Thankfully, the kitchen was empty when he got there, so he wouldn’t have to worry about unnecessary small talk.

Unfortunately, that also left him alone with his thoughts as he prepared himself his drink.

He thought a bit about what they had talked about last night.

Of course, Miko was right about this whole setup not making any sense whatsoever. After all, if Monokuma wanted them dead, he would’ve killed everyone by now, right?

He sighed.

Whatever this was, it was really fucked-up.

Rantaro was brought out of his thoughts by two people walking over.

He turned around. Kokoro had walked over with Amai in tow.

“Good morning!” Kokoro greeted.

“Hey there.” Rantaro returned the greeting. “How’d you guys sleep?”

“Not good, unfortunately. I don’t think the tea helped.”

_So she agrees with me, huh?_ Rantaro thought.

“Yeah,” Rantaro said. “Ayano should _definitely_ take Miko’s advice more often. Hey, actually,” He pointed to the kettle, which was still boiling. “I assume you both want drinks, right? I’m just making myself some coffee, so I don’t mind making you guys anything.”

Kokoro shrugged. “Well, if you’re offering.”

Amai’s eyes lit up. “Ooh! Can you make us some hot chocolate??”

Rantaro chuckled. “Of course. It’s really no problem.”

“Yaaaay!” She cheered.

Rantaro smiled to himself as he got two more cups and the hot chocolate mix down.

_I’m glad to see that they’re hanging out._ Rantaro thought. _Kokoro hasn’t gotten much opportunity to talk to Amai in a while, so I’m happy the two of them are having fun together._

It didn’t take long for him to finish the drinks, but as he walked over to the table, it seemed that the two of them were already deep in a conversation.

“Come on, it HAS to be!” Amai argued.

“I guess, but it doesn’t really make much sense.” Kokoro said.

“Think about it! It’s the only thing that makes sense if you think about it!”

“But that’s going into the supernatural!”

“Um, sorry,” Rantaro interrupted. “Your drinks are ready. I, uh…” He gave them a perplexed look. “…What exactly are you talking about?”

“Something I thought of last night!” Amai chimed. “It’s the only thing that makes sense!”

Rantaro shot Kokoro a look.

She sighed.

“…She thinks Jasper’s a ghost.”

He set the three drinks down and shot Amai a look. “…Um…What.”

“Think about it!” Amai exclaimed. “Your skin goes super pale when you die, right?”

“…I think so…?”

“Then that would explain why his skin’s purple! He’s been dead for a suuuuper long time!”

“Yeah, but then…” Kokoro started. “Why is he here?”

“Nonono, let her finish.” Rantaro dismissed, now genuinely interested.

“Well, you know that thing he does when he keeps appearing in places?”

Rantaro nodded. “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.”

“Well that proves it!” She slammed her fist on the table for impact. “GHOSTS! CAN! _TELEPORT!!!_”

“Well yes, but…Why is he HERE?” Kokoro repeated.

Silence.

“…I have no clue.” She groaned, before taking a swig of her hot chocolate. “But it’s the only thing that makes sense!”

Kokoro sighed. “It really isn’t…”

Rantaro honestly didn’t know what to think.

Sure, he completely got Amai’s line of reasoning.

But this theory made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Then again, Jasper was the last person he needed to be thinking about this morning.

He sighed and took a sip of his coffee.

He noticed Ayano leave the kitchen behind them, holding a freshly made cup of coffee of her own.

“Good morning, Ayano.” He greeted. “You sleep any better?”

“Ah? Oh, good morning.” She greeted back. “And yes, I can say I have.”

“That’s good!” Kokoro said. “You really should take Miko’s advice more often!”

She chuckled. “Alright, alright…What are you three up to?”

“Oh,” Rantaro replied. “I made drinks for the three of us. We only got up recently.”

“Oh, really? Interesting.”

“Yeah, thanks again for last night by the way.”

“Oh, it was no trouble. I felt like I should offer, that’s all.”

“Are you planning on talking to Miko again?” He asked.

“Hmm, possibly.” She mused, putting her free hand to her chin. “That depends on how busy he-” She stopped. “Hm?”

Rantaro stopped, and turned around to where Ayano was looking. Amai had put her mug down and was rubbing her finger against her temple.

“Hey, are you okay?” He asked, concerned.

“Oh, I’ve just been getting these weird headaches since I woke up.” She replied.

“Oh, it might be a good idea to go to the nurse’s office to get some painkillers.” Ayano suggested.

“…Where’s the nurse’s office again?”

Ayano rolled her eyes, walked over and linked Amai’s arm. “I’ll just take you…”

Ayano walked her out, leaving Rantaro and Kokoro alone.

“…Huh.” Kokoro started. “Hope she’s okay…”

“I think she’ll be fine after lying down and taking some painkillers.” Rantaro said with a shrug. “Ayano’s no medical expert, but she knows what she knows.”

“I guess.” She took her and Amai’s empty cups and walked over to the sink, prompting Rantaro to follow suit.

“So you faring any better?” Rantaro asked.

Kokoro shook her head after a brief hesitation.

“Thought so…” He said with a grimace. “Your code is pretty hard to deal with compared to mine.”

“Hmm…” She hummed thoughtfully. “I’m gonna go to the arcade and play some stuff. You wanna come with?”

He shook his head. “It’s fine, I’m not really feeling up to playing anything. Thanks for the offer.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah yeah, no need to worry.”

“Okay, as long as you’re sure.” She waved as she left. “See you later!”

He waved back as she walked out the door.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

_What am I gonna do now?_

He wasn’t sure if there was _anything_ to do, as this was usually the point where-

He stopped himself before finishing that sentence. He couldn’t be thinking about that, not now.

_But it was inevitable wasn’t it?_

He frowned, batting those thoughts out of his head.

Sure, it was probably true, but he shouldn’t be thinking like that.

But either way, he needed something to do.

…

_Okay, this is probably a dumb idea, but I could go to my lab._

_And I don’t know if I’ll be getting out of here anytime soon, but I could start charting a course to find all of my sisters as soon as I do._

Rantaro nodded. _Yeah, I could do that._

So it was decided. He quickly made another cup of coffee to take up with him and started heading towards the door.

Ahmya was just walking in, likely going to get a drink herself.

“Morning.” She greeted. “You seem in a hurry.”

“Not really,” Rantaro chuckled. “I’m just heading to my lab. I have things to do.”

“Cool. Is Kokoro not going with you?”

“No, she isn’t. She’s just gone to the arcade.”

“Oh, she’s not gone with her friend with the horns? That’s weird.”

“Yeah, Amai had gotten a headache earlier so Ayano went to get her some painkillers.”

She raised her eyebrows. “…Huh. Well I hope she’s okay.”

“Yeah, same here. She’ll be fine after some painkillers and a lie down, though.”

“Yeah, hopefully.”

“Well I’d better head to my lab, so I can’t say.”

“Have fun with that.” Ahmya nodded a farewell. “Later.”

Rantaro nodded back and left the room to head upstairs.

“Alright, so maybe…No, that wouldn’t work with how bad the weather could be at that time of year.”

Rantaro was in his lab, a small box filled with pins and string on the desk. The large map now had a number of pins in it, with string tied between them in a path around the already pinned areas.

“Then again,” Rantaro thought aloud, taking out some more pins. “If that’s the case, it might be easier to go…” He stuck a pin close to where Costa Rica was. “_That _way. Yeah, maybe.” He tied a piece of string to connect that pin to another nearby. “Then if the first few travels don’t work out, I could detour back this way, and…”

He took a step back to admire his work.

Originally, the world map was barren aside from the pins that pointed where he had lost each of his twelve sisters.

But now, a course had been charted around all twelve areas.

Rantaro smiled to himself.

_This could actually work…!_

“…Well. You’ve certainly made yourself busy.”

He tensed when he recognised the voice behind him.

He turned around with a sigh. “…Jasper, what do you want?”

“I was just curious as to what you were doing with all those pins.” Jasper said. “And can I just say…Impressive.”

“Well you’ve seen. You can leave now.

“My, my. That isn’t the way to be treating a friend, you know.”

“Like I said before. I don’t even know if I can consider you my friend.”

Jasper rolled his eyes. “Really? The first trial is in the past now, remember?”

Rantaro tutted. “Whatever…”

Jasper looked around. “Isn’t Hikari here? She could be with Amai again, but I’m just surprised she’s not with you.”

“Why do you need to know?”

“Is it so wrong to be curious?”

“Well if you really want to know,” Rantaro said with a sigh. “Kokoro’s gone to the arcade and Ayano’s taken Amai to the nurses office for a headache. That’s it.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes, it IS so. Actually,” He started to leave, moving the box back to where it used to be. “I’ve been up here a while. I should get Kokoro to see how Amai’s been doing.”

“Hmm…That seems like a good idea.”

“I guess. So you can leave me alone now.”

Rantaro walked out of the room and started walking through the hallway.

He stopped when he heard footsteps behind him.

He sighed, annoyed.

“Jasper, what did I say about leaving me alone?”

“You’re not the only one that’s bored, you know. I need something to do too.”

“So go bother someone else. Miko’s probably alone, talk to him. Don’t you have a thing for him or whatever?”

“That’s for me to know. And besides, he’s busy working on a project in his lab and I doubt he wants to be disturbed.”

Rantaro sighed, rolling his eyes. “Alright, fine. I’ll humour you.”

Jasper smiled. “Good. How have you been doing, Ran-Ran?”

“Okay, please. For the love of god. _Stop calling me that._”

“Oh Ran-Ran, it’s just a harmless nickname. I don’t see what the problem is.”

Rantaro groaned as the two of them continued walking.

“…Aren’t you going to answer my question?”

“I don’t know.” He tapped his Monokuma bracelet. “This motive _sucks._”

Jasper shrugged. “You can say that.”

“Like, what’s your NG code anyway?”

“I can’t say.”

“See, I-” He stopped and turned around. “Wait. What do you mean, you can’t say?”

He shrugged. “Can’t say.”

He sighed. “Is this because I didn’t say please?…Alright, _please_ tell me what your NG code is.”

“I appreciate the politeness, but no.”

“Alright, I’ll show you mine.” He tapped the screen of his bracelet and showed it to him. “Here.”

“…Hm. That’s quite…Problematic.”

“Yeah, it is. Now can you tell me yours?”

“Hmmmmm…………No.”

“Wait- what do you mean _no!?_”

“I mean no. It’s not against the rules to not reveal your NG code, you know.”

“I guess…”

_He’s totally not being suspicious at all…_ He thought. _…Alright, maybe I could actually use this to ask him about my theory._

“Actually, can I ask you something?”

“Of course. What is it?”

“It’s about the theory I came up with yesterday.”

Jasper’s eyes narrowed. “Theory? What theory?”

Rantaro groaned. “Okay, don’t bother playing dumb with me. I know you were listening in on me yesterday morning.”

Jasper chuckled. “Alright alright, you got me. It’s quite an interesting theory, actually.”

“I still can’t quite believe it myself, though…Actually, is that what you meant that day?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“When you asked if I really wanted to know why we’re here. Is this what you meant?”

Jasper looked confused. “What does that have to do with it?”

“…What do you mean?”

“That was about the _reason_ why we were here. The fact that there were multiple killing games before this one doesn’t apply to that, no?”

Rantaro frowned. “I guess you’re right…But there has to be a reason behind this, doesn’t there?”

“_Does_ there?”

“W- of _course_ there does! That’d just be death for no reason!”

Jasper deadpanned him. “Ran-Ran, there’s death for no reason every day. It’s not new.”

“So what, you’re saying there _isn’t_ a reason behind this killing game?”

“I never said that. I’m just asking if there needs to be.”

Rantaro grimaced. “…You’re making no sense.”

“This entire scenario doesn’t make sense, really.” Jasper said with a shrug. “Get used to it.”

Rantaro sighed. “Alright, alright…”

The two of them had gotten to the stairway going to the second floor.

Rantaro ran a hand through his hair. “Alright, I’d better head to get Kokoro. Because we need to see Amai, remember?”

“Ah yes,” Jasper said. “She had gone to the nurse’s office, correct?”

“Yeah, that’s right. But you’re not part of this, so stay out of it.”

Jasper laughed. “Okay, okay. If you insist.”

Rantaro rolled his eyes and headed downstairs to the arcade.

As he anticipated, Kokoro was playing on one of the games.

“Hey, Kokoro.” He called over, causing her to turn around.

“Oh, hey!” She greeted. “You change your mind?”

“No, I was just gonna see how Amai’s doing and figured you’d want to come with.”

“Oh, okay!” She chimed as she turned away from the game. “Did Ayano come to see you or anything?”

He shook his head. “No she hadn’t. I just figured it’d be a good idea. What, did she come to see you?”

She shook her head.

“Right, I see…I guess maybe she didn’t want to bother us after tending to Amai or something.”

“Yeah, maybe…Or maybe she went to see Miko again?”

“No, I doubt that. I ran into Jasper on the way here, and he said Miko was busy with something in his lab.”

“Oh, huh…”

“But yeah, it’s probably a good idea to go down to see how she’s doing.”

“Yeah, good call.” She agreed as she started to follow him out the door. “You reckon she’s doing any better?”

“Oh come on, there’s no need to worry.” Rantaro said with a chuckle. “Amai will be totally fine.”

It didn’t take the two of them too long to get to the nurse’s office.

Rantaro knocked on the door. “Hey, Ayano, you in there?”

No response.

Rantaro knocked a little harder. “Ayano? Are you in there?”

Kokoro shrugged. “Maybe she left?”

“I’m not sure…Maybe we should just go in.”

“Wait, but wouldn’t that be rude-”

Before she could finish, Rantaro pushed the door open.

What met the two of them when they opened the door stopped them dead in their tracks.

…

…_W…_

…_What the HELL!?_

The nurse’s office was a complete wreck. Numerous pill bottles had been broken and some dots of blood were splattered across the usually clean floor. Ayano was lying completely unconscious on the ground at the end of the room against the wall, with shards of glass from the broken bottles around her.

But most concerningly, Amai was completely missing.

“A- _Ayano!_” Rantaro called out, running over to her.

She shifted a little when she heard him – thank _GOD – _but hadn’t fully woken up yet. “…Nn…”

“Oh thank god you’re alive…” He brushed some of the broken glass out of the way – making sure not to touch any sharp edges – before kneeling down in front of her and putting a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Nnn…” She started to push herself up, bringing a hand to her head. “…I dunno…”

Through doing this, Rantaro noticed a pinprick-sized dot on the side of her neck.

“Ayano, what happened!? Where’s Amai!?” Kokoro questioned.

“Huh? What do you mean?” She pointed to one of the beds. “She’s right-”

Her eyes widened when she realised the bed she was pointing at was empty. “…Oh. Oh no.”

“What happened, Ayano?” Rantaro asked. “Deep breaths. Tell me what happened.”

“Okay…” Ayano started. “I had given Amai some painkillers for her headache. She wanted to lie down for a bit until her head cleared up, so she lay down on that bed there…” She grimaced uneasily. “…But when I put the pill bottle back, someone grabbed me from behind.”

“Did you see who it was?”

She shook her head. “No, they were dressed in a surgical robe and mask.” She pointed to a cupboard in the corner of the room. “The ones you can get from there. I couldn’t tell who they were.”

He grimaced. “Damn…You evidently put up a fight with them.”

“I tried to.” She pointed to the dot on her neck. “But they injected something into my neck and everything went black.”

“Right, but where’s Amai!?” Kokoro questioned.

Rantaro was just about to snap at her to calm down and let Ayano talk, but stopped himself.

This was her _best friend_ they were talking about. Of course Kokoro was freaking out.

“I don’t know for sure, but…” Ayano started. “I did hear something before whatever the killer put in me took effect…”

“Really?” Rantaro turned back around. “What was it?”

“I didn’t hear everything…I just heard ‘something something ballroom’, but then I blacked out.”

“That’s it,” Kokoro brought her fist down on her hand. “We need to head there.”

“W- hey! Wait a minute!” Rantaro started. “We can’t just leave-!”

Kokoro had already started sprinting out the door before Rantaro finished.

Rantaro sighed, turning back around to Ayano.

“Sorry, but I’m going to have to go after her to make sure she doesn’t do anything reckless.” He got back up.

“It’s fine…” Ayano said, rubbing her temple. “You need to find her anyway. I’d better alert the others, though.”

“Got it. Stay safe.”

Rantaro ran out of the door and headed after Kokoro.

He nearly collided into Jasper on his way to the stairway.

“Oh hey-” He started.

“No time!” Rantaro practically shoved him out of the way as he continued running.

Jasper stood still for a few moments with wide eyes, blinked a few times and turned around to where Rantaro had ran off.

His eyes narrowed.

He was a much better runner than her, so he was easily able to catch up to her once she reached the third floor.

“Kokoro, hold on!” He called out.

Kokoro didn’t reply, stopping when she reached the door to the ballroom.

She banged on the door. “Amai, are you in here!?”

Rantaro grimaced.

He already knew by now that Amai wouldn’t be on the other side of that door.

Not in the way that Kokoro wanted, anyway.

She banged on the door again.

Every bang hammered another nail further into the coffin.

Rantaro clenched his fists as he finally got to the door, slamming it open before Kokoro could bang on it again.

The room was in complete and total darkness.

“Dammit, where’s the light switch…!?” Rantaro muttered, tracing his hand against the wall. Despite his usually better than average night vision, he couldn’t seem to find it due to the adrenaline.

“Amai!” Kokoro called out, running around the ballroom. “Amai, where are you!?”

Rantaro bit down on his lip as Kokoro continued calling out for her.

_You’re not gonna find her, you’re not gonna find her…_

He didn’t care how he already knew this.

He just…_Knew._

Kokoro stopped calling.

Rantaro knew something was wrong.

He turned around to see what was going on. “Did you find something-”

He stopped.

Kokoro was standing stock-still in the centre of the ballroom floor.

Rantaro couldn’t see what her expression was.

But she was looking _up._

His gaze drifted upwards.

He froze.

He didn’t need the lights to be on to see the rope tied around the chandelier.

And he didn’t need the lights to be on to see the dead body of Amai Akuma, the Ultimate Digital Artist, hanging from the chandelier on a noose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Well that's DEFINITELY not good.  
I know some people were able to guess that Amai would be the next victim, so good job! I mean I wasn't exactly being subtle about it at all but I'll let you guys have this
> 
> So who killed her?  
And wait, isn't this the THIRD chapter?  
Those questions will be answered soon~
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading until the end! <3  
Please leave any theories and comments down below!


End file.
